Rescuers perish in copter crash

Rescue vessels from the Navy, Coast Guard and ONGC have managed to recover Capt Singh’s body, while the search continues for Kapoor’s body,says a statement issued by Pawan Hans Ltd.

Officials attached to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Pawan Hans Ltd and the Civil Aviation Ministry have arrived to investigate the crash. The director of air safety, V K Chandna and deputy director, DGCA, Subhash Chandra are conducting the inquiry. According to company officials, the helicopter crashed into the sea soon after the pilot informed that he was landing.

Both pilots had several years’ experience. Capt Singh, 47, had nearly 7,000 flying hours to his credit, of which more than 4,000 hours were on Dauphin helicopter. Capt Kapoor had logged in nearly the same number of hours on the Dauphin. According to sources, both pilots had started work at 11 am on Sunday and had completed between 35 and 45 landings when they were posted off shore on stand-by duty.

Though Sunday night’s fatal crash is reported to be the first such accident off Bombay High, it comes in the wake of at least two near-mishaps, allege pilots of the corporation. According to them, two helicopters taking off from off-shore oil rigs had narrowly missed colliding with each other recently. “When both the pilots put up the issue before the management in writing, they were warned not to raise the matter,” a pilot told Express Newsline on the condition of anonymity.

In another incident, late last year the door of a Dauphin helicopter fell off mid-air after taking off from the Juhu helipad. Though there were no casualties, the director general of civil aviation, who conducted an enquiry into the incident, made examination of doors mandatory before every flight. Incidentally, Pawan Hans pilots had only last week complained of inadequate services rendered by the Marine Radio Officers, employed by the ONGC to co-ordinate take-offs and landings. With no alternative pilot guidance equipment like the Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) available for helicopters operating on oil rigs, pilots rely exclusively on radio beacons and the advise of the MROs for landing.

When contacted, DGM (personnel), A Shrivastava refused to comment. Capt Singh, who was an office-bearer of Pawan Hans pilots union, was removed from his post as his colleagues felt that the union under him was not taking up pilots grievances with the management.