The central government has appointed a four-member team of experts to investigate the YSR helicopter crash and suggest ways to overhaul helicopter flying in the country.
The central government has appointed a four-member team of experts to investigate the YSR helicopter crash and suggest ways to overhaul helicopter flying in the country.
The team is headed by R K Tyagi, chairman and managing director of Pawan Hans Helicopters, and comprises captain Irshad Ahmad, also from Pawan Hans, and Sanjay Bramhane and Maneesh Kumar, both from the DGCA. Ahmed is the DGCA’s part-time and only helicopter safety inspector. DGCA sources say that the panel will also have aviation experts from IAF and airlines assisting them.
“The scope of the inquiry is not just to probe the helicopter crash but also to suggest how to overhaul helicopter flying in the country,” said a senior DGCA official. The panel will submit its report in two months.
Meanwhile, an earlier probe team from the DGCA, which is at the crash site gathering crucial evidence, is finding the going difficult. Sources said retrieval of the helicopter parts is one of the big challenges as the debris is scattered on a slope of the hillock.
“There are over 200 pieces of the helicopter which need to be retrieved before the probe team takes out the important components for detailed investigation,” said a senior DGCA official.
The probe team is yet to lay hands on the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), emergency location transmitters (ELTs), engine, rotor blade and several crucial documents like maps and post-flight inspection cards. The DGCA is seeking IAF help to collect all the pieces of the helicopter.
Another DGCA team has collected the ATC tapes from the Hyderabad airport, besides other documents like weather reports prior to and after the helicopter’s take-off. A senior official said that the probe hinges on the retrieval of the CVR.
“The CVR has magnetic tapes which record conversations between the pilot and the control tower. These tapes will be played to find out what exactly happened during the flight and before the crash,” the official said.
The team is also looking into technical aspects like the serviceability of components like the CVR, ELTs, rotor blade, communication gadgets and maintenance records of the helicopter.
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