Trainer aircraft crash lands near Belagavi airport

A 50-year-old Cessna 172 trainer aircraft made a crash landing due to inadequate fuel and broke into three pieces near Belagavi airport on Sunday afternoon, and the two pilots, who were on board the plane, are safe, according to sources.

The two-seater aircraft VT-EUC, which was flying from Kalaburagi to Belagavi, crash-landed in an open field in Mangaluru village in Vijayapura district. The site is around 50 to 70 kilometres from the Belagavi airport. Both the occupants ejected before it crashed, sources said, adding the aircraft broke into three pieces. In a statement on Sunday evening, the civil aviation ministry said the force landing happened “due to suspected fuel starvation experienced by the aircraft” and that the plane was manufactured in 1975.  The aircraft's certificate of registration with Redbird was issued on May 23, 2023, and the certificate of airworthiness was issued on September 20, 2023.

According to the ministry, the Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC) was issued on August 1, 2025, and is valid till August 3, 2026.