Thursday’s Beechcraft King Air C-90 aircraft crash that claimed five lives and left three others injured has thrown up several questions over the issues like safety, airworthiness and lack of mandatory clearances involving the aircraft which caught fire and came crushing down at an under-construction site at Ghatkopar in north-east Mumbai.

On a day when the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has began a preliminary enquiry into the incident, the family members of four crew members – who were among the five persons killed in the mishap —have raised serious questions like: who cleared the aircraft as being fit for flying, who authorised the test flight and who gave a go ahead for the flight under inclement weather conditions.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has set the tone and terms for the inquiry to be conducted initially by the DGCA and a subsequent detailed investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).

In a statement issued late on Friday, the Ministry of Civil Aviation had said the aircraft, which met with an incident on Thursday, last flown last more than ten years ago. “The aircraft last flew on 22 Feb 2008 when it was with UP Govt. The aircraft was later bought by M/s UY Aviation in 2014. Thereafter, the aircraft was under maintenance for last one and a half years,” the ministry’s statement said 

Thursday’s was the first test flight of the aircraft “upon completion of maintenance task before applying for grant of Certificate of Airworthiness/ Airworthiness Review Certificate by DGCA”.

“As per the regulatory provisions, before any test flight, a certificate to the effect that the aircraft is fit for flight is required to be issued by the authorised certifying staff of the operator or MRO.  ...... AAIB will conduct the detailed investigation expeditiously,” the ministry’s statement said.

The authorities have ascertained that the aircraft involved in the mishap was 26-year-old. Bought from the Uttar Pradesh government in 2014, the aircraft belonged to Mumbai-based UY Aviation Pvt. ltd. (UYAPl), a firm owned by the gutka king Deepak Kothari.

Informed sources in the aviation industry said that given its age and lack of airworthiness certification or review by the DGCA,  the firm should not have allowed the 12-seater aircraft to undertake “test flight” during the inclement weather conditions that prevailed in Mumbai on Thursday.

The five persons who were killed in Thursday’s mishap were: Capt Pradeep Rajput, Co-Capt Marya Zubairi, aircraft maintenance engineer Surabhi Gupta, technician Manish Pandey and a pedestrian identified as one Govind Dubey, who was a carpenter.

While Capt. Rajput, a former Indian Air Force pilot, had over 5000 hours flying experience, co-pilot Capt Mariya Zubedi had flown for over 1000 hours.

Advocate Pradeep Kathuria, the husband of the co-pilot Mariya Zubedi, who was among the  crew members killed in the mishap, reiterated that his wife had mentioned to him that Thursday’s weather conditions were not conducive for “a small-aircraft” like the one that met with an accident to undertake a “test flight”.  

"Both Capt Rajput and Marya were good flyers. Both had undertaken test flights earlier. They felt that the weather was not okay for the flight," Kathuria said.

"Pradeep’s family members informed me that the plane had to be tested on Thursday itself. We were against it. Despite unfavourable weather conditions the test was done,” Kulvinder Chauhan, a relative of the Delhi-based pilot, claimed.

Surabhi's father S P Gupta also expressed doubts about the “airworthiness” of the aircraft which was “sick”. “I had spoken to my daughter yesterday morning.... We had a routine conversation before she told me that the aircraft she was going to fly in later in the day was sick. She said the aircraft was in a bad condition. How was permission given to fly a sick aircraft and who gave this permissionIJ," Gupta asked, while speaking to media persons at Sonepat

"It is shocking...we are shattered... No one has come to meet us so far," an emotional Gopal Dubey, the brother of Govind, a carpenter who died when the aircraft came crashing on him.

Dubeys — who hail from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh —had not claimed Govind’s body till Friday afternoon.