Three days after a tragic crash, a joint team of the Indian Navy and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) successfully recovered the body of 19-year-old trainee pilot Shubhrodeep Dutta from Jharkhand’s Chandil Dam on Thursday. The young aviator was on a routine training mission when the two-seater aircraft, operated by Alchemist Aviation Pvt Ltd, plunged into the dam minutes after taking off from Jamshedpur’s Sonari Airport.
Officials confirmed that local fishermen, who were assisting in the search efforts, spotted Dutta’s body entangled in the dense aquatic vegetation. Despite this grim discovery, the search for the aircraft’s instructor pilot, Shatru Jeet Anand, remains ongoing. The aircraft lost contact with Jamshedpur Air Traffic Control and crashed into the dam approximately 15-20 minutes after takeoff.
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Search operations ongoing
Mukesh Lunayat, the District Police Superintendent, confirmed the identification of Dutta’s body by his parents, Subarno and Pradip Dutta. “We have sent it for post-mortem,” Lunayat added. The tragic incident has left the Dutta family devastated, as Shubhrodeep was their only child. He had joined the flying school over a year ago after successfully completing his Class 12 exams, with hopes of building a career in aviation.
The search operation, which has been ongoing since the crash, was bolstered by the arrival of a specialized Navy team in Jamshedpur late Wednesday night. Chandil Sub-Divisional Officer Shubhra Rani, who had been overseeing the efforts on-site, noted that the team began their intensive search at 4:30 AM on Thursday.
Meanwhile, teams from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) have arrived at the crash site to investigate the cause of the mishap. Mrinal Kanti Pal, the Managing Director of Alchemist Aviation Pvt Ltd, stated that the investigation teams have initiated discussions with him regarding the circumstances leading up to the crash.
