3 injured as plane with remdesivir load crash-lands at Gwalior airport

Speaking to Express, SP Gwalior, Amit Sanghi said, “The pilot unaware of the arrestor barrier collided with the barrier and crash landed.” The two pilots along with injured tehsildar were rushed to IAF hospital inside Maharajapur air case. On Friday, a CT scan was held to ascertain any internal injuries but none were found.

The Gwalior airport which is under the control of the Airforce and the arrestor barrier was placed at the end of the runway, which is a standard practise for training of pilots using fighter jets.

The state craft suffered considerable damage after the crash and is expected to remain out of use for a long period of time. The aircraft was pushed to pick up and deliver anti-viral drugs like Remdesivir to different parts of the state as various districts, cutting down travel time considerably.

The state government will now be using choppers to deliver these drugs but will face challenges with capacity restraints in a chopper among other things. The aircraft was purchased by the state government, a year ago at the cost of Rs 65 crore. With the maximum speed of 575 kms per hour, the aircraft was equipped with state of the art facilities accommodating nine people at a time and can also be used as an air ambulance. Officials pointed out that after the crash, it will remain out of use for a long period.