Latest news with #Sreehari
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- New Indian Express
Kerala family's wait for student pilot's body continues
KOCHI: For the parents of Sreehari S, who died earlier this week in a mid-air collision involving two single-engine training aircraft, the wait for his mortal remains is proving to be agonising. According to Sreehari's relatives, his family has received no details from the Indian high commission in Canada regarding repatriation of the body. A 23-year-old student pilot, Sreehari was at the helm of one of the two Cessna planes involved in the incident as part of his training for a commercial pilot's licence. The July 8 crash also claimed the life of Savanna May Royes, a 20-year-old Canadian student pilot. It was Sreehari's lifelong dream to become a pilot and he had been in Canada for the past one and a half years, said Deepesh Chandran, his uncle. 'Sreehari was home last November to visit his grandmother, who was battling cancer. He returned in February after her death.' 'Nobody knows what happened. The instructor said the collision happened during a training manoeuvre. It wasn't a head-on crash,' said Deepesh. He said the body will be moved to a funeral home in Canada after police procedures. Before moving to Canada, According to him, the Canada Malayalee Association is assisting with all the necessary procedures.
Time of India
5 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Aspiring Kochi pilot's life cut short in Canada plane crash
1 2 Kochi: Dreamed of becoming a pilot since childhood, Sreehari Sukesh used to surf the internet for the adventurous flying experiences of professional pilots and the operational details of warplanes. He strived earnestly towards his goal and obtained a licence to fly private aircraft from Nashik by the time he left for Canada two years ago to pursue advanced training in commercial aviation. He was close to completing the mandatory 180 flying hours at Harv's Air flight training school in Steinbach when fate dashed his hopes and cut short his life. The 23-year-old, hailing from Tripunithura in Ernakulam, was among the two — the other a fellow student of the same flying school — who lost their lives after their training aircraft collided mid-air while trying to land near Steinbach South Airport, about 60km south of Winnipeg, in Canada on Tuesday morning. Sreehari and Canadian May Royce, 20, reportedly were flying single-engine aircraft. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Manitoba confirmed that "the mid-air collision occurred at 8.45am and the two pilots were pronounced deceased on scene." "The incident occurred during a training exercise for take-offs and landings, in which it is not uncommon for students to fly on their own. The pilots were trying to land their planes — a Cessna 172 and Cessna 152 — at the same time, before they crashed near a landing strip," Harv's Air owner Adam Penner told reporters. Sreehari's family received the information regarding the accident on Tuesday night but the official confirmation from his trainer arrived only by Wednesday afternoon. "Since we are unfamiliar with the technical aspects of the training, we still don't know what exactly led to the accident," said Sreehari's uncle Dipesh. Dipesh said the "experience at the Nashik flying school had thrilled Sreehari" while his schoolmate Gokul K said "his basic nature was to face adventurous moments with extraordinary boldness." The Indian consulate in Canada promised assistance to Sreehari's family. "With profound sorrow, we mourn the tragic passing of Sreehari Sukesh, a young Indian student pilot, who lost his life in a mid-air collision near Steinbach, Manitoba. We extend our deepest condolences to his family. The consulate is in contact with the bereaved family, the pilot training school, and local police to provide all necessary assistance," the consulate said in an X post. Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden has approached the ministry of external affairs demanding urgent intervention for the repatriation of Sreehari's mortal remains. Sreehari is survived by his father Sukesh, mother Deepa and sister Samyuktha.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Family of Kerala student pilot killed in Canada seeks urgent repatriation of body
Kochi, The family of Sreehari Sukesh, a student pilot killed in a mid-air collision in Canada's Manitoba province, on Thursday urged the central and state governments to help repatriate his body as quickly as possible. Family of Kerala student pilot killed in Canada seeks urgent repatriation of body Sreehari was killed when his single-engine plane collided mid-air with another similar aircraft piloted by a Canadian youth, who also died in the accident on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters in Tripunithura, near here, where his family resides, Sreehari's relative said he had been in Canada for the past one and a half years. He said Sreehari had gone to Canada after completing his 12th standard. "He had secured a private pilot licence and was undergoing training to obtain a commercial licence. For that, he needed to complete 180 more flying hours, and he was almost at the end of that requirement when the tragedy occurred," the relative said. He appealed to government authorities to take urgent steps to repatriate the body. "We are trying through various channels the Chief Minister's Office, the offices of Union Ministers from Kerala, Suresh Gopi and George Kurian, and the Ministry of External Affairs," he told reporters. The family came to know about the incident on Wednesday through relatives of students studying with Sreehari, but an official confirmation from his flying school instructor was received only at 5.30 pm. He said the technical reasons that led to the accident are not yet known, but co-students told the family that it was not a mishap due to negligence. Instead, something went wrong during a manoeuvre that was part of the training. The Consulate General of India on Wednesday said it was "in contact with the bereaved family, the pilot training school and local police to provide all necessary assistance." "The bodies of the two student pilots were recovered in the wreckage of their single-engine planes after both crashed mid-air on Tuesday morning near Steinbach, roughly 50 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg," a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation news report said. The students collided when approaching a landing strip while practising takeoffs and landings, the CBC report said, quoting Adam Penner, president of Harv's Air, the flying school where both pilots had been training. The Transportation Safety Board, the agency responsible for investigating aviation incidents in Canada, said it is gathering information and assessing the fatal crash. Sreehari Sukesh's age was not mentioned. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
The Hindu
6 days ago
- The Hindu
Family awaits mortal remains of trainee pilot who died in accident in Canada
During the one-and-a-half years he spent in Canada undergoing training to become a commercial pilot, Sreehari Sukesh, 23, from Thripunithura, contacted his parents back home every single day without fail. His parents, K. Sukesh, a manager at a public sector bank, and Deepa Chandran, an IT professional, had grown used to his video calls—sometimes lasting up to one-and-a-half or even two hours—that arrived with clockwork precision every evening. That is why they called him back when no call came on the evening of July 8. But they could not reach him. His last call had come the previous evening. 'Later, an instructor from his flying school called to convey the tragic news of his death. We were told that two aircraft were out flying and, as they came in on parallel paths, one brushed against the fuel tank of the aircraft below, leading to the accident. We have no further details,' said Deepesh Chandran, a relative of Sreehari. It has since emerged that the accident occurred in the province of Manitoba, Canada, on July 8. May Royes, 20, from Canada, was the other victim. Sreehari had last visited home in November 2024 and left in the first week of February 2025. He was on the verge of completing the mandatory flying hours required to qualify as a commercial pilot, a dream he had cherished all along. The Canadian authorities contacted the family on Wednesday to confirm that Sreehari was indeed one of the victims. They were also informed that his body would be moved to a funeral home on Thursday. 'Since then, we have contacted the Central and State governments, the Indian Embassy in Canada, the Ambassador, and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to bring back his mortal remains at the earliest,' said Mr. Chandran. The funeral will be held in Thripunithura. Meanwhile, Hibi Eden, MP, has written to the MEA seeking its intervention to expedite the repatriation of Sreehari's mortal remains.
