Crash of Varsha's plane remains a mystery
Thiruvananthapuram: Seven months after her death in a mid-air collision in Malolos City, Philippines, memories of trainee-pilot Varsha Gopinath, 18, linger afresh in the minds of her parents and friends. Shockingly, what caused the mid-air crash still remains a mystery to them.
One factor that links trainee pilot Kaushik G Mohan, 26, who died in a plane crash early Saturday morning in Philippines, and Varsha – other than that both are from Thiruvananthapuram – is that the plane that rammed her Cessna from behind on July 9, 2007, belonged to Fliteline Aviation School Kaushik later trained at.
Scores of letters to the WCC Aviation Company, Philippines, where Varsha trained at, and the Indian Ambassador in Philippines have failed to provide N.Gopinathan Nair, Varsha’s father, with an answer.
Philippines ground Cessna planes
The Air Transportation Office yesterday ordered the
grounding of all Cessna-150 planes in the country
following the recent crash in Bulacan where two persons
were killed. The Cessna 150 is a two-seat airplane
designed for flight training, touring and personal use,
the ATO said. “All Cessna aircraft in the country are
ordered grounded pending the investigation of the trainer
plane which crashed in Plaridel, Bulacan where two pilots
were killed,†Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza
said.Most of the 100 Cessna-150 trainer planes in the
country are 40 years old.
03/03/08 Vito Barcelo
Manila Standard Today, Philippines
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“The flying instructor Capt Castello who accompanied Varsha’s body to Thiruvananthapuram told me that a government investigation was on in Philippines and that a delegation consisting of the owner of WCC Aviation Company would meet me with the investigation report. Nothing has happened so far,” he said.
In these seven months, Gopinatha Pillai wrote to Capt Raymond, vice president of WCC but got no reply. He wrote to the Indian ambassador in Manila, but received no response.
Unlike Kaushik, Varsha had not intended to go to Philippines when she signed up for pilot training with Air Titan Pilot Academy, Kochi. Kaushik Mohan, who gave up a career in hotel management for flying, died on Saturday after his plane crashed in a paddy field next to the Plaridel Airfield while he was about to land.
Last month, another Malayali, Kiran Panikker of Kollam died after his plane crashed in the sea off Philippines.
03/03/08 Newindpress