Overview
- The two-seater Cessna 172, registration VT-EUC, went down in an open field near Mangaluru village in Vijayapura while flying from Kalaburagi to Belagavi.
- Instructor Captain Kunal Malhotra and trainee pilot Goutham Sankar were taken to hospital; local police and doctors reported minor, stable injuries, though some early reports described them as serious.
- A Civil Aviation Ministry statement said the aircraft made a forced landing roughly 50–70 km from Belagavi due to suspected fuel starvation, with the exact cause still under investigation.
- PTI and police sources said both occupants ejected before impact, the aircraft overturned and broke into pieces, and the site was secured by local authorities.
- Officials identified the airframe as a 1975-built Cessna operated by Redbird Flight Training Academy, and regulators are reviewing fuel planning, engine performance, and maintenance records.