Latest news with #studentpilots
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Student pilot from India identified as 1 of 2 killed in southern Manitoba mid-air plane crash
One of the two victims of a Tuesday mid-air crash in southern Manitoba has been identified as a young student pilot from India. The consulate general of India in Toronto identified the victim as Sreehari Sukesh. In a social media post on Wednesday, the consulate said it is in contact with his family, the flying school where he was a student and police to provide any needed assistance. The consulate did not indicate Sukesh's exact age. The other victim was identified as 20-year-old Savanna May Royes, a Canadian citizen who had always dreamed of becoming a pilot, following in the footsteps of her father, according to a statement from her family. The bodies of the two student pilots were recovered in the wreckage of their single-engine planes after both crashed mid-air on Tuesday morning near Steinbach, roughly 50 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg. The students collided when approaching a landing strip while practising takeoffs and landings, said Adam Penner, president of Harv's Air, the flying school where both pilots had been training. The Transportation Safety Board, the agency responsible for investigating aviation incidents in Canada, said it is gathering information and assessing the fatal crash.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Horror as two planes smash into each other in deadly mid-air collision
Two single-engine planes smashed into each other in mid-air on Tuesday morning, killing both student pilots onboard. The collision occurred at around 8.45am when the two student pilots were practicing takeoffs and landings in small Cessna planes at Harv's Air Pilot training school in Steinbach, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, the school's president, Adam Penner, told the CBC. He explained that it appeared that both pilots were trying to land at the same time and collided a few hundred yards from the small runway. The Cessnas are equipped with radios, but Penner said it appears the two pilots did not see each other approaching. 'We don't understand how they could get so close together,' Penner said. 'We'll have to wait for the investigation.' One of the pilots was just a couple of months into training, he noted, while the other nearly had a commercial license. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have not yet identified the victims, however family members confirmed that one of the pilots was 20-year-old Savanna May Royes, whom they called the 'essence of pure joy.' 'Savanna's faith and laughter will forever touch everyone who was lucky enough to have known her during her short life,' the family said in a statement. Lucille and Nathaniel Plett, who live near the flight school, described the horrifying sound they heard on Tuesday morning. 'We heard some kind of crackling, banging sound and then the engine turned off - I recognized that because sometimes they do stunts around here and they turn the engine off, but they turn it back on,' Lucille told Global News. 'Next ting we heard is a big crash and a big bang... and we knew this isn't a stunt, this is something serious.' Nathaniel said he then realized there had been a plane crash, and when he went outside he saw 'a pillar of black smoke coming up and a little bit later [we] heard another bang and there was an even bigger pop of black smoke.' This was a rare occurrence for the flight school, which Penner's parents started in the 1970s and trains students from around the world for recreational and professional flying. 'For more than 51 years, we have been offering the very best flight training the safest, most enjoyable way possible,' Harv's Air Pilot training school boasts online. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has been notified of the collision and has sent investigators to the scene, which is about 42 miles south of Winnipeg.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
2 Student Pilots Killed in 'Devastating' Midair Crash While Practicing Takeoffs and Landings
Two student pilots were killed in a midair plane crash in Canada on Tuesday, July 8 The collision occurred as the student pilots were attending Harv's Air pilot training school The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating the cause of the crashTwo student pilots have been killed in a midair collision involving their single-engine planes in Canada. The crash occurred at around 8:45 a.m. local time on Tuesday, July 8, according to a press release from the Steinbach Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The pilots were training at Harv's Air pilot training school south of Steinbeck in the Canadian province of Manitoba, the Associated Press and regional outlets CTV New and CityNews Montreal reported. Adam Penner, the owner of Harv's Air, said that the student pilots were 'practicing their takeoffs and landings' when their Cessna aircrafts collided roughly 1,300 ft. from the runway in a field, according to the outlets. 'There was some sort of communication issue where they weren't seeing each other,' Penner told CityNews Montreal. 'They were on approach, and they collided somewhere on the approach.' The pilots were found deceased at the scene, the RCMP confirmed in their press release. At the time of the collision, they were flying a four-seater Cessna 172 airplane and a two-seater Cessna 152 plane, CBC News reported. The police, fire department and emergency medical services responded to the scene, per CityNews Montreal. In a press conference, a RCMP spokesperson declined to identify the victims, saying, 'I don't have that information," according to the AP. One of the students killed was later identified as 20-year-old Savanna May Royes, who was training to be a pilot like her father, the family confirmed to CBC News. "Savanna's faith and laughter will forever touch everyone who was lucky enough to have known her, during her short life," they said. Footage from the scene showed a trail of smoke rising in the air from the crash in a field on a private property, per CTV News. 'It's devastating, it's really … very personal,' an emotional Penner told the outlet. 'This is our everyday kind of routine … [it's] very tough. It's just kind of a small family here. The students are often from overseas, so they're kind of a close-knit group, the instructors and staff too.' The family-run flying school hadn't had a fatal incident before in its 50-year history, CTV News reported. RCMP hasn't shared details of the cause of crash at this time. During their press conference, a spokesperson said it was "too early" to rule out criminal charges, adding, 'This is still evolving." 'The members are still on scene, so the investigation is ongoing," they explained. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Witness Nathanial Plett told CTV News, '[The crash] sounded like an airplane revving its engine … and then the propeller …[after] a couple of thuds and then it stopped. We heard a bang … and saw the smoke coming up right away.' In a statement, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada confirmed that it was investigating the incident. PEOPLE has contacted Harv's Air flying school and RCMP for comment. Read the original article on People
CTV News
6 days ago
- General
- CTV News
One of two pilots in fatal mid-air collision in Manitoba identified
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating a deadly mid-air collision involving two planes. Jeff Keele reports. The Consulate General of India in Toronto has confirmed the identity of one of the two victims in Tuesday's deadly mid-air plane crash near Steinbach. Two student pilots died when their planes collided just south of the runway at Harv's Air, a flight school. In a post on X, the Consulate General says Sreehari Sukesh was one of the pilots. 'With profound sorrow, we mourn the tragic passing of Mr. Sreehari Sukesh, a young Indian student pilot, who lost his life in a mid-air collision near Steinbach, Manitoba. We extend our deepest condolences to the family,' the post reads. With profound sorrow, we mourn the tragic passing of Mr. Sreehari Sukesh, a young Indian student pilot, who lost his life in a mid-air collision near Steinbach, Manitoba. We extend our deepest condolences to his family. The Consulate is in contact with the bereaved family, the… — IndiainToronto (@IndiainToronto) July 9, 2025 The post goes on to say the Consulate has contacted the family, the school, and police to provide assistance. A Facebook page with Sukesh's name describes him as a private pilot and he is listed as living in Steinbach, MB. 'Once you have tasted flight, nothing else will stop you,' a post on the page reads. Harv's Air owner Adam Penner said Tuesday the pilots were practicing routine takeoffs and landings at the time of the collision. The Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. On Wednesday the TSB said while on final approach to the runway, the planes collided in the air, hit the ground, and a fire ensued.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Woman who was 1 of 2 student pilots killed in Manitoba plane crash was 'the essence of pure joy': family
The family of a 20-year-old woman killed in a mid-air plane crash in southern Manitoba on Tuesday morning says she had always dreamed of becoming a pilot, following in the footsteps of her father. Savanna May Royes was one of the two student pilots killed when their single-engine planes collided near Steinbach, roughly 50 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg, on Tuesday morning, a family member said in a statement provided to CBC News. She was "the essence of pure joy," the family said in a short written statement. "Savanna's faith and laughter will forever touch everyone who was lucky enough to have known her, during her short life," the family said. The crash happened around 8:45 a.m. in the rural municipality of Hanover, south of Steinbach and west of Highway 12, RCMP said. The bodies of the pilots were found in the wreckage of the single-engine planes, RCMP said. There were no passengers aboard. "We're devastated," said Adam Penner, president of Harv's Air flying school. The crash happened during a training exercise, he said. WATCH | RCMP speak about fatal plane crash: Nathaniel Plett lives near the flight school. He and his wife were drinking coffee Tuesday morning when they heard a bang, he said. "I said to my wife, 'That's a plane crash,'" said Plett. "There was a pillar of black smoke coming up, and a little later [we] heard another bang, and there was an even bigger pop of black smoke." Harv's Air president Penner, who was in the flight school office at the time, said the students collided when approaching the landing strip while practising takeoffs and landings. "We don't understand how they could get so close together. We'll have to wait for the investigation," he said. "There was a commotion … then I realized." The collision was between a four-seater airplane, a Cessna 172, and a two-seater Cessna 152, he said. One pilot was just a couple of months into training, while the other nearly had a commercial licence, Penner said. Both were training to get their private and commercial licences to become airline pilots. Mid-air collisions are exceedingly rare and make up less than half of one per cent of crashes ever recorded in Canadian airspace, a Transportation Safety Board spokesperson told CBC News in a statement. Tuesday's crash was only the second such mid-air collision recorded in Manitoba. Not including the Tuesday crash, there have been 45 such collisions in Canada since 1990, when the TSB was founded, and only one is known to have occurred in Manitoba history prior to the latest crash, according to the statement. Penner said the flight school, which his parents started in the early 1970s, has students from Canada and around the world training for professional and recreational purposes. The school trains about 400 student pilots a year. Students receive one-to-one training with an instructor, and it isn't unusual for them to fly solo during training, he said. "It's been a shocking morning," said Mohamed Shahin, an instructor at Harv's Air and former student. "Really heartbreaking, and we feel really sad for the parents of the students we lost." No information on the ages or the gender of the pilots has been released by RCMP. "This is still evolving. Members are still on scene," RCMP media relations spokesperson Cpl. Melanie Roussel said during a news conference on Tuesday. "It's a two-vehicle plane collision, which is not something that happens every day." Roussel could not confirm whether family of the pilots had been notified as of 1:30 p.m., during the RCMP news conference. RCMP will continue to be involved in investigating the fatalities, said Roussel, though the Transportation Safety Board will take over the investigation into the cause of the crash. The TSB, which investigates aviation incidents in Canada, said it has deployed a team of investigators to the crash scene. Earlier this year, the TSB investigated a separate incident involving a staff member of Harv's Air Service at St. Andrews Airport north of Winnipeg. The employee sustained "serious injuries" from a small fixed-wing aircraft propeller while helping a student who was struggling to start the plane, according to the TSB.
