DGCA: Nothing wrong with copter
Director General of Civil Aviation E.K. Bharat Bhushan said on Friday that the Pawan Hans helicopter that crashed at Tawang earlier this week had the requisite certificate of air-worthiness and added that there did not seem to be anything wrong with the chopper.
However, he added that the inquiry which would be conducted into the causes of the crash would bring out all the facts in the matter. The data recorder of the ill-fated chopper will be sent to Mumbai for examination. The DGCA’s statement comes in the wake of allegations purportedly levelled by officials of the Arunachal Pradesh government about the condition of the Pawan Hans choppers.
The civil aviation ministry had earlier stated that “the helicopter (that crashed) was manufactured in 1996 and its C of A (Certificate of Air-worthiness) is valid up to August 28, 2011”.
On Friday, Mr. Bhushan told reporters that the utility of the choppers cannot be judged by the date of manufacture and added, “To my knowledge, there was nothing wrong with the chopper.”
He added that the DGCA has appointed an inquiry officer on the Tawang crash, adding that the civil aviation ministry would set up an inquiry committee on the matter. Government aviation sources said the pilot of the ill-fated chopper had spoken of a strong draught of air that pushed the chopper down. In response to a question on whether the Arunachal government had earlier written to the civil aviation ministry or the DGCA, warning about the maintenance of Pawan Hans choppers, Mr Bhushan said the DGCA had not received any such letter from the Arunachal government. Union civil aviation secretary Nasim Zaidi did not interact with reporters.
In the wake of the chopper crash that had claimed 17 lives, Mr Bhushan said “the DGCA will have to look at the readiness of helipads” in far-off places that are accessed only by choppers. In response to a question, he said “there was a time lag” in the reaching of mobile fire tenders (from a military depot) to the crash site.
An official of the state-owned Pawan Hans said that all the copters operated by Pawan Hans are completely airworthy and that all its pilots are experienced. But it remains to be seen whether the Arunachal government takes any punitive action against the pilot of the ill-fated copter.
In response to questions about the fake pilot scam, the DGCA said several measures were being planned including establishment of online system for pilot exams and setting up of a question bank. Changes in the examination syllabus for pilots could also be made.
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