State likely to buy own copter for VIP's

Chandigarh : Punjab is likely to go in for a helicopter of its own after the near-fatal crash of the Pawan Hans copter leased by the state to ferry VIPs at Chandigarh airport yesterday. Though government sources are claiming yesterday’s crash is a simple lifting error, indicating the accident was because of a pilot error than anything else, the increasing number of accidents involving VIP flights has forced the government to play safe. Sources disclosed that the government was likely to go in for the purchase of Eurocopter’s Dauphin AS365N3 helicopter, the same machine that met with an accident today. This model is being favoured because it is in VIP configuration, has twin engines and can accommodate six persons. Moreover, Pawan Hans is operating these helicopters in the country and has the necessary experience to maintain them. The Dauphin N3 used by state VIPs, including the Chief Minister and the Deputy CM, travels most frequently to Delhi and Bathinda, both of which are a little more than an hour’s travel from here. It is clear the government will only purchase the helicopter, which is worth around Rs 50 crore. The maintenance as well as supply of pilots for the running of the helicopter will be outsourced to Pawan Hans.

Meanwhile, the man who was supposed to board the helicopter minutes before it met with an accident -- Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia-- today said the state should not use second-hand helicopters. Claiming he would take up the issue with the Chief Minister also, Kalia said he had been informed that the helicopter which met with an accident yesterday could have had a faulty tail rotor also. However, state civil aviation authorities contested this statement, saying the helicopter had flown in the morning also and that this would not have been possible if there was any glitch in its tail rotor. They attribute the accident more to a momentary lack of concentration in handling the joystick. The Director-General of Civil Aviation has already ordered an inquiry into the accident.