Date:04/02/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/02/04/stories/2007020404050600.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Aircraft crashlands, pilot hurt

Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD: A bird-hit forced the pilot of a private aircraft to crashland the Cessna half-a-km away from the landing strip at Nadergul on city outskirts on Saturday. The trainee pilot and the trainer had a miraculous escape while the aircraft belonging to the Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy had irreparable damage.

The police said trainee pilot Jasmine Messy (21) suffered a gash on her temple while trainer Mandeep Sharma escaped unhurt. The two-seater Cessna 152 of the RGAA, a private institute imparting flying courses, took off at 3 p.m. from Nadergul airstrip. After completing a sortie, an eagle hit the aircraft breaking its windshield, the police said.