BANGALORE: A 24-year-old trainee pilot from Bangalore died in Melbourne at 3.40 am IST on Wednesday after the wing of his small aircraft clipped that of another. The aircraft crashed into a garage, barely missing a school full of children and several residential units.
Akash Anantha of Chamarajpet was in Australia for three months, training at Melbournes Royal Victorian Aero Club.
The mid-air collision happened when the left wing of his Cessna-150 clipped a wing of a Piper Warrior flown by another Indian trainee and his qualified Australian woman instructor. The Piper, however, landed safely.
Akashs aircraft reportedly crashed into a garage a few metres from an in-session Cheltenham East Primary School in South-East Melbourne and near several residential units.
Businessman-father Anantha Padmanabha told DNA it was Akashs third solo flight.
His family in Bangalore described him as a "lovely and sweet" boy who was passionate about becoming a professional pilot. Anantha said Akash was highly ambitious and aspired to become a commercial pilot. His eyes welled up as he said, "We spoke to him just three days ago. He sounded very happy and confident about flying. In fact, he said he found flying quite easy."
Relatives and neighbours converged on the Padmanabha residence on receiving the news of Akashs death.
"We remember him as a very handsome and lovely boy. It was a joy to have him around," his uncle Shivaram said.
"We are all proud of him. He has saved thousands of lives, both at the school and in the residential area," he said.
Akash completed his schooling from Kumarans School and pre-university in science stream from Vijaya College. While pursuing a degree at Oxford Engineering College, he was overwhelmed by the passion to fly and set out to Melbourne to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot.
Akash was staying with his cousin Dilip, who works in Melbourne. The family was informed about the incident at 9.30 am on Wednesday.
"Dilip told us about the incident. We have to send the DNA report to Australia for them to identify that the person who died was our son. We expect the body to arrive in Bangalore within three days," Anantha said.
