Probe into malfunctioning of CM's new helicopter
The Director General of Civil Aviation ordered an inquiry into the malfunctioning of an electrical fuse on the newly-acquired AW139 helicopter
HYDERABAD: The Director General of Civil Aviation on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into the malfunctioning of an electrical fuse on the newly-acquired AW139 helicopter when it was carrying Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on flight from Mahbubnagar to Hyderabad on Sunday.
The Chief Minister and his aides had a lucky escape in the incident.
The newly acquired Rs 64-crore AW 139 helicopter was on its first flight and everything appeared fine on the upward journey but when the CM, his special secretary K Prabhakara Reddy and Chief Security Officer Uday Kumar were returning by the chopper when the electrical fuse suddenly started popping out.
Pilot Capt M Jagan Mohan Raju tried to fix it and continued the flight.
After a few minutes, the electrical fuse popped out again but luckily did not cause any major trouble in the 20-minute flight journey, a top official of AP Aviation Corporation said on condition of anonymity.
Neither the Chief Minister nor his aides were informed about this technical fault even after the aircraft landed safely in Hyderabad.
The pilot informed about the snag to the AP Aviation Corporation Authorities only on Monday evening as it could not be fixed immediately.
As a result, the Chief Minister will now be using the old Bell 430 helicopter for his trip to Nalgonda on Wednesday, official sources said.
The AP Aviation Corporation authorities, however, denied there was any major problem with the AW 139 chopper.
The Chief Minister and his aides had a lucky escape in the incident.
The newly acquired Rs 64-crore AW 139 helicopter was on its first flight and everything appeared fine on the upward journey but when the CM, his special secretary K Prabhakara Reddy and Chief Security Officer Uday Kumar were returning by the chopper when the electrical fuse suddenly started popping out.
Pilot Capt M Jagan Mohan Raju tried to fix it and continued the flight.
After a few minutes, the electrical fuse popped out again but luckily did not cause any major trouble in the 20-minute flight journey, a top official of AP Aviation Corporation said on condition of anonymity.
Neither the Chief Minister nor his aides were informed about this technical fault even after the aircraft landed safely in Hyderabad.
The pilot informed about the snag to the AP Aviation Corporation Authorities only on Monday evening as it could not be fixed immediately.
As a result, the Chief Minister will now be using the old Bell 430 helicopter for his trip to Nalgonda on Wednesday, official sources said.
The AP Aviation Corporation authorities, however, denied there was any major problem with the AW 139 chopper.