Indian student in crash to try flight test again

Upland, California: Don’t ever call Vishal Choudhry a quitter.
The 18-year-old Indian man who was trying to earn his pilot’s license when the plane he was in crashed into three homes Monday will give it another shot.
Steve Rez, owner of the Aero Club flight school in Van Nuys where the ill-fated Piper Seneca was based, said Choudhry will likely take his test, or checkflight, Saturday or Monday.
“Well, he has a job waiting for him in India,” Rez said. “So we’re going to take another checkflight.”
Choudhry failed his first checkflight and was giving it a second try when the twin-engine plane carrying him, flight instructor Eli Tousson, 54, and Vijay Dsouza, 34, crashed into three homes on West Blossom Circle.
The plane bounced off the first two homes and landed on the garage roof of the third.
The three men suffered only minor to moderate injuries. No one else was injured.
Rez said he has no misgivings about giving Choudhry one more chance.
“Pilots are in great need in India and China,” he said. “They have thousands of openings, and the pilots need to be trained.”
An attempt to locate Choudhry for comment was unsuccessful.
Rez said he believes the flight instructor was probably responsible for the crash. He said Tousson apparently turned off one engine to simulate a stall.
When Choudhry failed to regain control, Tousson was not able to pull the plane out of the stall in time.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said Tousson has a top-notch flight rating.
Highly rated or not, Rez said a different instructor will fly with Choudhry.
Yes, Choudhry will be taking the same route from Van Nuys Airport to Cable Airport as he did Monday.
07/06/07 Mark Petix and Megan Blaney/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, US