DGCA suspends use of civilian choppers for relief operations

Move follows two air crashes in Uttarakhand in the past week

ITBP personnel at the site of the wreckage of a private helicopter in Uttarkashi district.

The Aviation regulatory body Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Saturday suspended the use of civilian helicopters for disaster management in Uttarakhand following two air crashes in the past week, including one that killed all three on board.

“Current operations will remain suspended till UCADA, operators and SDMA make Standard Operating Procedures for such operations,” a senior DGCA official said. UCADA is Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority and SDMA is the State Disaster Management Authority.

However, the DGCA will permit operations on case-to-case basis under its supervision.

‘Clearly define roles’

The DGCA wants the role and responsibilities of the State departments to be clearly defined to ensure safe operations and wants the local regulatory agency to maintain a database of various terrain hazards and obstacles, including cables, which should be shared with helicopter operators.

Civilian helicopters were pressed into rescue and relief operations by the local administration on August 19 following landslides due to heavy rainfall. On the first day itself, a helicopter of Heritage Aviation was involved in a crash that killed all three on board after the chopper got entangled in apple cart cables.

Two days later, a chopper of Aryan Aviation crashed similarly after hitting apple cart cables, and the two on board sustained minor injuries.