Punjab: IAF officer killed, NCC cadet hurt in Patiala microlight plane crash

PATIALA: An IAF officer was killed and a trainee pilot injured when a microlight aircraft crashed in the Army area, immediately after take-off from the Patiala Aviation Club airstrip on Monday afternoon.
Group Captain Gurpreet Singh Cheema, commander of the 3rd Punjab Air Squadron of National Cadet Corps (NCC), was killed while trainee cadet Vipan Yadav was seriously injured.Group Captain Cheema was on deputation to the NCC unit.
The aircraft, which was used to teach flying to NCC cadets, lost flight after its engine stalled immediately after take-off at around 2 pm. The left-wing of the aircraft hit an eucalyptus tree along the Patiala-Sangrur highway before it fell inside the Army unit fence.
Group Capt Cheema, a former MiG-21 pilot, and Yadav were pulled out of the aircraft and taken to the Military Hospital, where Cheema reportedly succumbed to a head injury. Yadav was later shifted to Command Hospital, Chandigarh.