One of two student pilots killed in a fiery collision near a rural Manitoba runway has been identified as 21-year-old Sreehari Sukesh of India, the country’s Toronto consulate confirmed.The diplomatic post shared its “profound sorrow” in a Twitter/X message, adding staff are helping Sukesh’s family, Harv’s Air Flight School, and the RCMP. .A Facebook profile under Sukesh’s name lists Steinbach as home and quotes Leonardo da Vinci saying, “Once you have tasted flight, nothing else will stop you.”The crash occurred around 9 am CST on Tuesday about 400 metres south of Harv’s Air’s gravel strip. .Company President Adam Penner said the two single-engine Cessnas were practising touch-and-go landings when they lined up for the same approach and collided. Both aircraft plunged to the ground and burst into flames.Penner noted many of the school’s trainees arrive from overseas and “become like family,” making the loss especially painful.In a brief update today, the Transportation Safety Board investigators said the Cessnas struck while on final approach, then hit the ground and ignited. Savanna May Royes, 20, was the other student pilot who died in the crash. She was training to follow in her father’s footsteps as a pilot.The exact cause of the crash has not yet been released.
