Use of choppers under the scanner

The New Indian Express First Published : 01 May 2011 10:38:00 PM ISTLast Updated : 01 May 2011 11:57:55 PM IST
Two mishaps in quick succession in Arunachal Pradesh cannot but raise questions about the airworthiness of the helicopters which were involved and the suitability of flying conditions in the region. Within days after 17 tourists were killed when their helicopter crashed near Tawang, the chief minister’s chopper went missing for more than 24 hours, raising fears about the worst. Although it had taken off in relatively fine weather on Saturday afternoon, it is not unknown in the mountainous state for threatening cloud formations to appear quite suddenly, reducing visibility and causing turbulence.
The fact that air traffic control lost contact with the pilot within 20 minutes after the take-off from Tawang for Itanagar is worrisome, for it points to an emergency situation. Hence, the initial reports based on a press briefing by the Governor J J Singh, that the helicopter might have had to make a forced landing in what was described as inhospitable terrain in Bhutan. But the hopes raised about the possibility of survival were quickly dashed following denials from the Bhutanese authorities. An alarm was raised when the craft’s estimated time of arrival at Itanagar passed without any sign of its appearance.
However, two search-and-rescue missions had to be aborted because of inclement weather. Subsequently, neither satellite reconnaissance nor air force planes could detect anything untoward in the Tawang area. The chief minister was travelling along with the sister of the MLA from Tawang and a security officer.
Considering that another crash had taken place in Sikkim, killing four army men, in the few days between the earlier accident involving tourists and the latest one concerning Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu’s helicopter, it is clear that the conditions in the region are far from propitious for air operations and have to be reassessed by aviation authorities. This is all the more so since towards the end of last year, 12 military personnel died when their IAF helicopter crashed at Bomdir near the Chinese border.
The mishap involving Khandu will inevitably revive memories of the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s tragic accident, also involving a helicopter, in September, 2009.