Pilot and trainee injured after aircraft crashes in Vijayapura district

Mangalore Today News Network

Vijayapura, Feb 9, 2026: A pilot and trainee were injured when a training aircraft crashed in a field near Mangalooru village near Babaleshwar in Vijayapura district in Karnataka on Sunday (February 8, 2026).

The police shifted the injured captain, Kunal Malhotra, as well as assistant flight instructor and trainee Goutham Shankar to the hospital. They are recovering.

A pilot and a trainee sustained injuries when a training aircraft crashed in a field near Babaleshwar in Vijayapura district in Karnataka on February 8, 2026. | Video Credit: Special arrangement

The two-seater plane, belonging to the Red Bird Academy, was flying from Kalaburagi to Belagavi.

A crowd of farmers gathered around the crash site. A young man called the Babaleshwar police station, and officers arrived within minutes.

The Babaleshwar police shifted the injured captain, Kunal Malhotra, as well as assistant flight instructor and trainee Goutham Shankar, to the hospital. 

Eye-witnesses told local police officers that the flight nose-dived into the field and turned turtle. However, the two occupants had ejected themselves before the crash. The captain and trainee suffered minor injuries and were bleeding. The police rushed them to a private hospital in Babaleshwar. Superintendent of Police Laxman Nimbargi said that both were safe.

The police are recording the statements of farmers at the spot. A case is being registered.