New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had raised concerns regarding the safety features of Tecnam aircraft – widely used by flying training organisations (FTOs) in India now – over a month before the tragic crash of one in Kanpur on August 27.
A Tecnam P2006T training aircraft crashed near the Ganga on that day, killing a trainee pilot and an instructor.
The DGCA had also issued safety recommendations to FTOs concerning the Tecnam aircraft and asked them to implement them with immediate effect, PTI reported.
The regulator had, at least twice since 2025, flagged concerns over the Italy-made Tecnam planes with FTOs, it has now come to be known.
The latest communication, dated July 10, 2026, circulated safety recommendations issued by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) following the May 12, 2022 crash of a twin-engine Tecnam P2006T, operated by FSTC Flying School Pvt Ltd, at Bhiwani in Haryana.
The DGCA had advised FTOs to “avoid parking Tecnam aircraft on apron/tarmac for prolonged periods during the summer season prior to commencing training flights”, in an email.
“Greater emphasis should be placed on training for handling emergency situations, particularly during critical phases of flight on Tecnam aircraft,” the DGCA had further directed.
“Checklists should be revised to explicitly incorporate all Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM)-recommended actions for handling emergency situations,” it has said.
The communication was based on the final investigation report of the 2022 Bhiwani accident, which was available on the AAIB website, the email said.
In an earlier communication, the regulator had sought feedback from FTOs on the operational performance of Tecnam aircraft.
A reminder was sent on August 4, 2025, with the subject: “Reminder regarding Feedback checklist for ‘Operational Assessment of General Aviation (GA) Aircraft’s Performance -Tecnam Aircraft.” The reminder referred to an earlier email seeking responses through the feedback checklist, according to the source.
Several instructors had faced difficulties with this aircraft, one of them told the news agency on condition of anonymity.
“Diamond and Cessna aircraft, which have traditionally been flown for a long time, have good reliability, maintenance and airworthiness. Tecnam aircraft are becoming more popular because of their affordability, but there is a flying risk associated with them,” the instructor said.
The concerns extended to both single-engine and multi-engine Tecnam aircraft and claimed that incidents involving the aircraft were not always reflected clearly in available records, the senior instructor said.
He also referred to the 2022 Bhiwani accident and the findings of the subsequent AAIB investigation, saying they pointed to difficulties associated with operating Tecnam aircraft.
DGCA should consider grounding Tecnam aircraft temporarily and allow FTOs to operate them only after their safety and airworthiness had been fully assessed, the instructor suggested.
The Tecnam P2006T that crashed in Kanpur was operated by Garg Aviation. The aircraft, bearing registration VT-NBV, had taken off from Kanpur Civil Airport around 11.30 am and crashed about 20 minutes later near Nathapurwa village in the Katri area along the Ganga.
Instructor Sachin Bhatia and trainee pilot Abhishek Pujari were killed in the latest crash.
“Capt Bhatia was a good pilot and an experienced flying instructor. The images of the wreckage of his plane that circulated on social media shortly after the incident reflected something unusual,” the instructor said.
“The damage to the aircraft was not as severe in the Bhiwani crash of 2022 although it was the same-make aircraft, but here the whole fuselage has gone leaving only the tail of the plane,” the instructor added.
The AAIB would conduct a detailed investigation into the accident, while a three-member DGCA team would provide regulatory oversight and coordination, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has said.
The investigation is expected to examine the aircraft’s maintenance and airworthiness records, flying hours, age and engine operating limits, besides determining whether technical or human factors contributed to the crash.
The aircraft had no maintenance-related deficiencies, Garg Aviation had said after the accident.