A training aircraft – Cessna 172 of Redbird Flying Training Academy Limited has made an emergency landing in a field near Bagalkot, Karnataka on Sunday (February 8, 2026). This emergency landing was done due to a technical fault in the plane during flight in the sky.

Actually, this plane was flying towards the east, about 100 kilometers away from Belagavi Airport. Then suddenly a technical fault was detected in the plane. After this, the pilot of the training aircraft made a forced landing in a field near Bagalkot as a precaution. Both are completely safe. The registration number of the aircraft is VT-EUC.

No casualties reported

#WATCH | Karnataka | Visuals from the spot where, according to Belagavi Police, “A Red Bird private jet carrying two passengers crashed in Mangalore village of Babaleshwar taluk, Vijayapura district.”

Further details awaited.

According to DGCA, Redbird Flying Training Academy… pic.twitter.com/njbDFFxIwY

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2026

The matter of relief in this incident is that there is no information about any casualty. Trainer Captain Kunal Malhotra and Trainee Cadet Gautam Shankar had ejected before the trainee aircraft fell into the field. However, both have suffered minor injuries and have been admitted to a nearby hospital in Belagavi for treatment, but both are completely safe.

Where was the trainee plane going?

According to Belagavi Police, the incident took place in Mangaluru village of Babaleshwar taluk in Vijayapura district of Karnataka. According to initial information, this trainee aircraft had left for Belagavi from Kalaburagi, but due to a technical fault midway, the aircraft had to make an emergency landing.

Major reforms needed in aviation sector

Every day in the country, the problem of technical fault in some aircraft is coming to the fore again and again. All these incidents are continuously pointing out that there is a need for large-scale reforms in India’s aviation sector. So that a devastating accident like the Ahmedabad plane crash can be prevented before it happens.

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