Solapur Airport: Trainer Aircraft Ended Up in Nose-Down Position After Runway Mishap

A trainer aircraft skidded off the runway at Solapur Airport in Maharashtra on Thursday afternoon, with a woman trainee pilot on board escaping uninjured. The incident occurred around 2:30 pm during an attempted take-off.

The Tecnam P-Mentor, operated by Redbird Flight Training Academy, ended up in a nose-down position off the paved runway surface. Visuals from the airport showed the aircraft tilted forward, its nose angled toward the ground.

Fire services, ambulance crews and police personnel arrived at the scene to provide assistance after the mishap. The female trainee pilot, who was flying solo at the time, walked away from the incident unharmed.

The Tecnam P-Mentor is a two-seat, low-wing, single-engine light aircraft manufactured in Italy and designed for flight training purposes, spanning basic training to instrument flight certification. This episode adds to a history of incidents involving Redbird Flight Training Academy's fleet, including a previous crash near Suktara airfield in Madhya Pradesh in December last year after an engine power loss during final approach.

Redbird Flight Training Academy had its operations suspended by the aviation regulator in October 2023 following two crash-landing incidents within a week, tied to concerns about maintenance and operational standards. No further details about causes, injuries, aircraft specifics beyond the trainer type, or ongoing investigations are provided in the material.