Two pilots and an engineer were killed in a helicopter crash in the Bavdhan area of Maharashtra’s Pune district on Wednesday morning.
The helicopter, an Agusta A109S Grand (VTEVV), belonging to Delhi-based Heritage Aviation, took off from the Oxford Golf Course helipad in Pune and was headed for Juhu in Mumbai, an official said. The helicopter crashed near the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory around 7 a.m.
The chopper was scheduled to pick up Nationalist Congress Party State chief Sunil Tatkare from Mumbai. Calling the incident unfortunate, Mr. Tatkare said, “The flight was booked by the party for travel to Raigad district for the election campaign.”
Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissioner, Vinoykumar Choubey, told The Hindu, “The technical reason behind the crash is yet to be ascertained, but as per primary information, this region experienced heavy fog this morning.”
The deceased were identified as captain Girish Kumar Pillai, 53, a pilot from Andhra Pradesh, captain Paramjit Singh, 64, a pilot from Delhi, and captain Pritamchand Bhardwaj, 56, an engineer from Navi Mumbai. The three bodies were taken to Pune’s Sassoon Hospital for autopsy.
“The chopper was heavily damaged. Our teams responded and the fire was controlled,” Mr. Choubey said.
Locals informed the fire department about the crash following which four fire tenders and two recuse vans from the Pune Municipal Corporation and the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority were sent to the spot. “We found three people lying near the helicopter. The doctor announced all of them dead and sent their bodies to the hospital,” said chief fire officer Devendra Prabhakar Potphode.
A case of accidental death will be registered at Hinjewadi Police Station. While the police are searching for the black box, a team from Delhi has arrived to conduct a technical investigation into the accident. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has launched ‘Go Team’ to collect material evidence. The preliminary report will be published at the earliest.
Former naval aviator captain K.P. Sanjeev Kumar said the Pune-Mumbai-Juhu corridor “has been problematic, especially during low visibility and monsoon” given the geographical location of helipads, hilly terrain enroute and VFR ‘Kopter routes’ around Mumbai that bring “copters into conflict with terrain and obstacles”.
On safety concerns with regard to civil helicopters flying under private category or non-scheduled operator’s permit (NSOP), he said “there is no data that suggests if private helicopters are more prone to accidents as compared to those under NSOP”.
“The environment that helicopters operate is challenging. Helipads are often not well-equipped, remotely located, with no visual or landing aids. Takeoff and landing, the most critical part of flying, is purely visual. You cannot avoid what you cannot see,” he said.
Mr. Kumar pointed out that it is not surprising that such accidents usually happen within a short time after takeoff as this is the time when flight is at low altitude, close to ground and vulnerable to terrain and obstacles.
Published - October 02, 2024 09:50 am IST
