A trainee pilot escaped unharmed after a Tecnam P-Mentor aircraft made a hard landing at Solapur Airport on Thursday afternoon, damaging its nose wheel and leaving the aircraft stranded on the runway, according to the Redbird Flying Training Academy and airport authorities.
The incident took place at around 2pm after the twin-seater, single-engine aircraft took off from Baramati at approximately 1.15pm. The aircraft was being flown by a trainee pilot from the academy, which is based at the Baramati airstrip.
An academy spokesperson confirmed that the pilot was safe and had not suffered any injuries. The hard landing caused the aircraft’s nose wheel to break and bend. As the aircraft slowed down, its front portion came into contact with the runway.
The academy said it was coordinating with Solapur airport authorities to retrieve the aircraft. The spokesperson added that the aircraft was relatively new and had been acquired by the academy in 2025. The aircraft eventually came to rest on its front body after the damaged nose wheel gave way, according to the academy.
An official at Solapur Airport, which is managed by the Airports Authority of India, said the aircraft had not yet been removed from the runway. The official said a Directorate General of Civil Aviation team would first have to inspect the aircraft and provide clearance before it could be moved.
“There are no scheduled aircraft movements at Solapur for now,” the airport official said, according to the report. The runway’s temporary obstruction therefore affected the airport’s immediate operational status, although the report did not indicate any scheduled flight cancellations.
The aircraft had travelled to Solapur from Baramati, which is around 150 kilometres away by air. Baramati is home to two flying training organisations—Redbird Flying Training Academy and Carver Aviation. Both use the local airstrip for pilot training and non-scheduled flight operations.
The Baramati airstrip is managed by the Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited. The latest incident follows another training-aircraft mishap in the region in August, when an aircraft belonging to Carver Aviation veered off Baramati’s tabletop runway during a training exercise. Both occupants escaped unhurt in that incident, according to the report.
The aircraft at Solapur will remain subject to inspection and regulatory clearance before recovery operations can proceed. The report did not identify the cause of the hard landing or indicate whether any further action had been announced by the DGCA.
