Pilot blamed for president security breach

The Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) is all set to crack the whip on the pilot of the chopper that breached security by flying over president Pratibha Patil’s security cordon at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport on September 27.

A senior government official said: “The air traffic controller has been removed from duty.” The chopper belonged to Global Vectra and  the pilot, too, has been asked to join the investigation. The pilot has not been grounded yet and will be questioned by the DGCA. “He will be grounded if it is established that he did not follow instructions,” the official said.

The aviation ministry recently ordered a high-level probe into the incident. The DGCA investigation said the pilot, too, was at fault. The pilot was instructed to avoid the Palam technical area since the president’s aircraft was landing. The chopper hovered around near the airport till it was given permission to land at the airport. “The pilot followed all the instructions. But it did not follow the most crucial instruction of avoiding the Palam technical area while flying back to the airport for landing,” said a senior ministry official.  Landings and take-offs are stalled when the prime minister and president’s aircraft is on the move.