Govt sets up panel to probe Tawang crash

The panel would investigate and determine the cause and factors leading to the accident and make recommendations to avoid recurrence of such accidents

Five days after a Pawan Hans chopper crashed at the Tawang helipad killing 17 on board,the government today constituted a committee of inquiry to investigate the incident. The state-owned Pawan Hans has,meanwhile,declared an interim compensation for families of the dead and those injured.

The three-member committee,comprising former Air Force officers,would investigate all aspects of the accident and submit its report within three months,a Civil Aviation Ministry official said. While the committee would be headed by Air Marshal (retd) P P Rajkumar,its other members are Air Commodore (retd) Rai Krishan and Wing Commander (retd) Rabinder Singh. DGCAs deputy director (air safety) M J Singh would be its secretary.

The panel would investigate and determine the cause and factors leading to the accident and make recommendations to avoid recurrence of such accidents.

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Pawan Hans operated a Mi-172 helicopter to carry out ferry operations between Guwahati and Tawang for the Arunachal Pradesh government. The chopper company announced an interim compensation of Rs 1 lakh for the relatives of each of those killed in the crash and Rs 50,000 for those injured. The final compensation shall be determined as per law,said an official.

The ministry has directed the DGCA to launch a series of measures,including an immediate drive to ensure that all helicopters are operated and maintained in accordance with the approved procedures to ensure safety. The air safety regulator has also been asked to undertake immediate assessment of helipads,particularly in critical and remote areas where helicopter operations are crucial. Official sources told The Sunday Express that lack of basic safety equipment like fire tenders at the crash site led to the death of at least 10 people.

The aviation regulator would ensure that examiners of helicopters conduct special checks of the line pilots under overall supervision of DGCA in a time-bound manner and regularly monitor and review safety regulations which are implemented by state governments.

The ministry has also asked DGCA to make an external assessment of overall safety standards of helicopter operations in respect of operators which fly in such critical areas.