Bangalore: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have seized all the documents pertaining to the ill-fated Cessna 180 aircraft which crashed yesterday (Apr 17, 2004) killing four people including popular Southern actress Soundarya.

"The investigation team has seized all the documents pertaining to the aircraft...there is not a single paper with them," Director of Air Worthiness, Bangalore G T Selvam said today (Apr 18, 2004).

Another DGCA official, Parameshwaran said that the aircraft, 1955 make, had undergone necessary tests and had been certified in January for flying.

Agni Aviation, which owned the four-seater single engine plane had bought the aircraft a year ago from Nexus Computers, a Pondicherry-based IT firm. It had flown a total of 7,000 hours including about 110 hours with Agni.

According to Agni Aviation, the aircraft took off yesterday to Hyderabad with Soundarya, her brother Amarnath and Hindu Jagran Vedike leader Ramesh Kadam following "a request from a friend", but soon crashed a few hundred yards from the Jakkur airstrip killing the four.

DGCA officials said that they were unaware whether Agni Aviation had license for charter flying as any license is issued at the DGCA headquarters in New Delhi.

They also were unaware whether the aircraft (VT-EQU) had valid insurance papers, officials said.

The 28 year-old pilot Joy Phillip had about 400 hours of flying experience.