Officials express divergent views on Faridabad air crash enquiry

As an enquiry into Faridabad air crash began, questions are being raised as to whether the clearance granted to the ill-fated Pilatus P-12 plane to carry out a medical emergency flight was in accordance with rules and regulations laid down by DGCA.

Some officials in the DGCA are of the view that the rules were flouted in allowing the single-engined plane to carry out a medical emergency service while others cited the rules of the civil aviation  regulatory authority to show there were regulations permitting night flights by such type of an aircraft.

However, the officials who have expressed divergent views said the report of the Enquiry Committee, which has just begun its work, should be awaited in order to get a clear picture.

On the night of May 25, the nine-seater aircraft crashed into a residential colony in Faridabad, killing all the seven on board and three on the ground. A preliminary probe report said high velocity winds and technical malfunction were suspected to be the prime cause.

Responding to questions whether the single-engined plane could operate at night, an official said only those aircraft having piston engines were barred from night operations.

The Pilatus P-12 aircraft was a Pratt & Whitney-made turbine engine, called PT6A-67B, he said, adding that the DGCA rules on single-engine aircraft allowed a turbine-engined aeroplane to operate at nights too.

Similarly on whether medical emergency flights could be carried out at nights, the official said even choppers were permitted to fly in the night under rules specifically made for the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS).