Keralite trainee pilot killed in Philippines plane crash cremated

Indian trainee pilot Varsha Gopinath Pillai, who was killed in a plane crash in The Philippines, was cremated at her home here on Friday.

Thiruvananthapuram, July13 : Indian trainee pilot Varsha Gopinath Pillai, who was killed in a plane crash in The Philippines, was cremated at her home here on Friday.

Varsha's neighbourhood in Thiruvananthapuram was wrapped in sorrow, as her relatives and friends gathered to pay their last respects to her.

"She was the best, best of all from among the female trainees. She would have become the best pilot if she was alive,' said Arun, Varsha's classmate in the Philippines.

Varsha died on Sunday when the two Cessna planes being used for flight training collided in mid-air, north of The Philippine's capital, Manila, and crashed in a rice field, killing another student and an instructor.

The two Cessna 150s were about to land when they collided in Plaridel town, about 35 km north of Manila

Varsha's training was to end in just three months, after which she hoped to become the country's youngest female pilot at the age of 18.

The Plaridel airfield is mainly used for training.

ANI