Mumbai: More than 72 hours after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis survived a chopper mishap at Alibaug, the State government has served a show cause notice to two aviation companies operating the fleet of VIP choppers.
The firms — Aloft and Adonis — will have to give an explanation on Tuesday or face action, senior government officials told The Hindu . After the hearing, a report will be forwarded to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
VIP visits
The two firms were in May empanelled with the government to provide VIP helicopters for official visits. The copter for the Alibaug event was provided by Aloft, which had in turn sourced the chopper from UY Aviation.
“We are likely to take action against them once the hearing is over; this is a serious breach of security. The CM’s choppers have been meeting with mishaps,” said a senior official.
Three accidents
The Chief Minster has been involved in three chopper accidents lately, with the latest being at Alibaug last week. The chopper carrying Mr. Fadnavis took off unexpectedly with the CM a few feet away from the rotating wings. An emergency meeting was called at the CM’s home the same day to discuss the weakening security measures.
The helicopter at Alibaug — Bel 230 — was the same as the one which had developed a snag carrying the CM at Gadchiroli a few months ago.
Engine failure
The chopper had then developed an engine failure, raising a question mark on the security measures for the Chief Minister. The chopper is nearly two decades old and was bought from the Uttar Pradesh government, which did not want to use it any more.
In another incident at Latur, the Chief Minister’s helicopter crashed with Mr. Fadnavis and his team on board. That was a Sikorsky make. Maharashtra’s own fleet of chopper has been grounded in the absence of adequate manpower and finances. It includes a Dauphin helicopter, a Beechcraft 350, and Sikorsky.
“The hearing will be conducted by a senior IAS officer,” said an official.
