Aviation security body transfers 26 officials

New Delhi: In the biggest-ever reshuffle in the history of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), as many as 26 senior officials have been shunted out of Delhi in a wave of transfer postings. The transfer orders were issued following an HT report that relatives of 15 BCAS officials were holding lucrative jobs with private airlines or aviation-related companies, raising issues of conflict of interest.

As the aviation sector’s security regulator, the BCAS, which comes under the civil aviation ministry, has wide-ranging powers and officials in the organisation had been clinging on to the same posts for years, leading to allegations that they served vested interests.

30/05/11 Tushar Srivastava/Hindustan Times

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Airfares shoot as hordes of holidayers head home

Mumbai: The rush of people heading back home has definitely pushed up airfare by more than 15% for the month of June. If you plan to travel on any of the metro routes in the next month be prepared to shell out more for your air ticket.
Any plans to fly to the metro towns in the country in the first 15 days are definitely going to pinch your pocket as airfares are expected top show an upward trend in these days. “With the schools reopening after the holidays and people rushing back home from their vacation destinations, the airfares have definitely increased in this period,” says Rajesh Rateria, chairman, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI).
For instance, a Delhi- Mumbai ticket that costs Rs10,974 normally is in the range of Rs14,970 to Rs 42,567. Or a Jaipur-Mumbai ticket that is normally available for Rs7,805 will cost you now Rs14,409 to Rs 54,078. The holiday season has pushed up the fares and this trend will continue till June 13, the time by which most schools start functioning.
27./05/11 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

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328 flights delayed in April

A day after the Mumbai International Airport Limited, released a list of frequently delayed flights (flights delayed more than 20% times) in April, an air passenger body said that the initiative would be ineffective unless the government regularly publishes such lists in the public domain.
“There should be a government-appointed agency assigned to put up such lists across all airports every month,” said Sudhakar Reddy, national president with the Air Passenger Association of India (APAI).
According to the list, on an average 328 flights out of the 600-odd daily flights across all domestic carriers were delayed while taking off or landing at Mumbai airport.
The civil aviation ministry said it is working out modalities to designate an agency such as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to publish lists of errant flights across metro airports every month.
“We are working on it,” said Alok Sinha, joint secretary with the civil aviation ministry. Some of the flights featured in the list failed to stick to their schedule even once throughout the month. For instance, a Kingfisher flight — IT 3571 —that leaves Mumbai for Patna at 11.20am was delayed on all the 30 days it operated.
27/05 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

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Air passenger traffic grows at slower pace

Airline passenger traffic grew at a slower pace in April compared with the first three months of the year as an increase in airfare because of higher fuel costs discouraged travellers.
Passenger traffic increased 11.5% to about 4.67 million in April from a year earlier, according to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Passenger traffic rose 15-21% in the first three months of 2011.
Jet Airways (India) Ltd and its unit JetLite cornered a 24.8% market share in April followed by Kingfisher Airlines Ltd (20%) and InterGlobe Aviation Pvt. Ltd-run IndiGo (19.7%).?State-run Air India Ltd had a market share of 15.4%, SpiceJet Ltd had 13.6% and Wadia Group-owned GoAirlines (India) Pvt. Ltd had 6.4%.
Jet Airways had the lowest flight occupancy among the airlines at 66%, down from last year’s 74.2%, and JetLite’s fell to 72.1% from 78.1%.
Kingfisher Airlines was the only carrier to improve its flight occupancy, to 79.8% from 75.8%.
SpiceJet saw a drop to 71.7% from 81% and IndiGo slipped to 78.6% from 82.4%. GoAir remained at 78%.
27/05/11 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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Haze clears but flyers to US are still in the lurch

Mumbai: The volcano cloud from Iceland may be clearing out, but passengers bound for Europe are still on tenterhooks.
On Wednesday, as the ash cloud was abating, airlines started their services again. Operations to and from India to major European hubs like London, Paris, Frankfurt, etc remained uninterrupted.
British Airways, which had cancelled its flights to and from places like Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle, resumed normal operations on Wednesday.
Even though, reports of the cloud spreading over Germany, Lufthansa continued to operate flights normally. However, Indians bound for Europe in the coming weeks remain nervous about their travel plans and flooded tour operators with queries about alternate routes.
"Travel plans to Europe have been kept in abeyance still. Since the impact of the ash cloud on flights was enormous last year, nobody wants to take chances this time," said Rajesh Rateria, managing director of Cirrus Travels.
"People have kept their plans to travel to Europe in abeyance still. Since the impact of the ash cloud on flights was enormous last year, nobody wants to take a chance this time,'' said Rajesh Rateria, managing director, Cirrus Travels.
26/05/11 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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Boeing MRO facility work at Nagpur airport to end by 2012

Nagpur: The much-delayed Boeing Maintenance-Repair-Overhaul (MRO) facility to be raised at the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur is likely to start by the end of 2012, as work in this direction has started.
The project, worth $100 million, which Boeing is setting up, will have two hangars to accommodate bulky aircraft like Boeing-777, 747-800.
President of Boeing India Dr Dinesh Keskar and Air India Board Member KM Unni told this to reporters during a press conference today.
They said that roughly five aircraft could be admitted every month at the facility for various maintenance work.
25/05/11 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Volcanic eruption: Indian carriers asked to draw up alternative routes

New Delhi: A fresh volcanic eruption in Iceland threatens to disrupt flights to western Europe in what would make for an eerie rerun of last April's travel travails. "Till 9pm, the ash cloud had spread up to 20,000 feet over Greenland, Iceland and UK. Britain has asked airlines to assess the situation before operating flights. As of now, it seems UK and other important European cities could get hit," said a senior official who attended a meeting called by aviation secretary Nasim Zaidi.

"We have asked Indian carriers to draw up alternate routes to and from North America over the Mediterranean and the Atlantic and also to western Europe. We will start work on getting them permission to have technical halts to pick up and drop passengers from Athens, Rome, Cairo and airports in unaffected European cities."

Airports such as Athens and Rome offer rail, road and sea connectivity to other parts of Europe, apart from a clear access to the Atlantic to fly to North America. When ash affects the usual polar route to North America and airspace over western Europe, vital hubs London, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam and Brussels get crippled.

25/05/11 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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The ash effect: Fliers avoid tours via Europe

To improve the security environment at various airports in the country, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), in association with Central industrial security force (CISF), plans to frisk alighting passengers randomly in the concourse area, apart from installing more CCTVs in the airports.

The bureau of civil aviation security (BCAS) has approved the two committees proposed by the AAI for this purpose.

The plan is likely to be implemented by June this year at 10 hypersensitive airports in the country, including Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Agartala.

“All airport directors have been asked to study the existing system and make improvements to strengthen available arrangements like augmenting CCTVs and increasing safety measures,” said a top BCAS official.

In India, all airports follow the ‘sterile holding area plan’ except at airports in Jammu and Kashmir, where ‘concourse plan’ is being followed.

In the sterile holding area plan, the CISF will be in charge of security inside one portion of airport which will be out of bounds for all people except passengers.

25/05/11 Hindustan Times

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Volcano eruption in Iceland puts aviation sector on edge

New Delhi: The bad news: Icelandic volcanic eruptions have started impacting operations of Indian carriers with fears of a repeat of last year’s crisis looming large. The good news: it’s not all that bad — yet. Last year, the Eyjafjallajokull eruption had led to closure of European airspace for more than a week — the largest such closure since World War II.

On Saturday, Grimsvotn, Iceland’s most active volcano, erupted sending shivers down the spine of the aviation industry and flyers and putting Europe on high alert. Eyjafjallajokull had caused a loss of £2.5 billion (Rs18,000 crore) to the global aviation industry.

A Delhi-Chicago Air India flight had to take a detour on Monday due to flight restrictions over the European airspace. “As a result, we had to carry more fuel and had to offload some baggage,” said an Air India spokesperson.

Jet Airways has said it was a keeping a close watch on the situation in Europe.

“This is the peak travel period for Indians, both domestically and internationally,” said Kapil Kaul, South Asia CEO of Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, an aviation consultancy and research firm. “So far, going by reports, it doesn’t look as if it would cause the kind of disruptions it caused last year.” He said aviation and meteorological agencies were “much better prepared” to handle the situation this year.

23/05/11 Tushar Srivastava/Hindustan Times

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Fliers asked not to reschedule trips

Mumbai: Bandra resident Ankur Bakshi, is planning to cut short his vacation in Austria fearing flight disruptions owing to ash clouds strewn across the European skies following the explosion of Iceland's most active volcano, Grimsvotn, on Saturday. On Monday, the city-based businessman called his travel agent in anxiety. However, his agent asked him to wait till Wednesday before rescheduling his flight.

Hundreds of such panic calls kept city travel agents busy on Monday as weather bureaus in Europe said that the ash clouds could disrupt air traffic in the UK, France and Spain.

24/05/11 Hindustan Times

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No. of private jets, chartered flights soars

Mumbai: The soaring number of chartered planes and private jets are now jostling with commercial flights for the attention of aviation experts and airport operators.

The aviation industry has been on its toes with the ever-rising number of commercial flights and the burgeoning passenger traffic. Now, the officials also have to deal with the rising general aviation (GA) flights, which refer to all flights other than military and scheduled operations.

A look at the GA flight movements at Mumbai and Delhi indicates why airport officials and experts are mulling over creating special or separate facilities for those who want to fly out on their private jets or chartered planes. Mumbai airport saw a rise of 61.18% in GA movement from 2005-06, while Delhi witnessed a growth of 31.33% in the past four years. The growth has been similar in Delhi and Mumbai as the financial capital of the country witnessed 33.55% more GA flights during the past four years.

Mumbai, which handled 8,245 non-scheduled flights in 2006, deals with 13,290 of them in 2010-11. Every day, an average 38 GA planes take off and land in Mumbai, though the number was 22 a few years ago. Last year, Mumbai airport handled 30,000 passengers who flew in and out through private or non-scheduled flights.

"Most business honchos and politicians visit the two places, making them a hub of general aviation activity. As more corporates are based in Mumbai, the increase in GA may be more there," said a senior aviation analyst.

24/05/11 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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India goes full steam to finalize $10.4bn jet deal

New Delhi: Rejecting the carping by those ejected out of the hotly-contested $10.4 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) race, most notably the US, India is going full throttle to ink the "mother of all defence deals'' by December.

The aim is to ensure that deliveries of the 126 fighters begin from December 2014 onwards to stem IAF's fast-eroding combat edge. Top defence sources, in fact, said plans were afoot to base the first MMRCA squadron in the western sector, most probably at Ambala, by end-2015.

The first 18 jets will come in "fly-away condition" from the aviation major -- only Eurofighter Typhoon (EADS) and French Rafale (Dassault) are now left in contention -- finally selected for the project.

Subsequent batches of the 108 fighters, to be manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) after transfer of technology, will progressively be based in other operationally relevant locations, with special focus on the eastern front with China.

"The first fighter built in HAL should roll out in December 2016. Thereafter, HAL will deliver six jets per year, which will go up to 20 per year later. HAL will achieve 85% technology absorption by the end,'' said a source.

With plans clearly chalked out, MoD ruled out any scope for comebacks by the eliminated four fighters -- American F/A-18 'Super Hornet' ( Boeing) and F-16 'Super Viper' ( Lockheed Martin), Swedish Gripen (Saab), and Russian MiG-35 ( United Aircraft Corporation).

23/05/11 Rajat Pandit/Times of India

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Menon in Indian civil aviation body

Prominent non-resident Indian entrepreneur and Doha resident C K Menon has been nominated to the Government of India’s Security Advisory Council to Civil Aviation (SACCA) as an ex-officio member, according to a communiqué received yesterday.

Menon in his new capacity can advise government on issues related to passengers’ basic security at different international airports in India, sources told this newspaper.

Apart from Menon, who is the CEO of Doha’s Behzad Group of Companies, well-known businessman and managing director of the Abu Dhabi headquartered Emke Group M K Yusuf Ali is also on the board. They are the only non-resident Indians in the committee.

23/05/11 Gulf Times

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Pilots fear fatigue, question rest rules

Mumbai: Does India make its pilots work longer than the US or the UK? Yes, it seems, if reports submitted by two pilots' groups are to be believed.
A year after the May 22 Mangalore air crash killed 158 people, a lot remains to be done to mitigate pilot fatigue. The Flight and Duty Time Limitation (FDTL), rules which govern work-rest schedule for pilots, currently followed in India were formulated way back in 1992.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation called for scientifically-backed FDTL a few years ago, but the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) came up with a new draft FDTL, only in March this year. However, reports submitted by some pilots bodies claim that the new draft, called Civil Aviation Requirement 7 (CAR 7), actually reduces pilot rest period in some cases.
Fatigue-study is a complicated issue involving a number of factors like geographic location of the country, its climatology, social and genetic factors, circadian rhythms etc. Across the world, the trend has been to increase the rest hours or rather structure the duty hours in such a way that cockpit crew fatigue is kept under check to as much extent as possible.
In its submission to the DGCA, the Indian Pilots Guild, the union of Air India pilots, gave an example to point out how the pilots will be a more tired lot under the new Indian rules. It said if the Flight Duty Time (this includes flying time, plus time spent on the ground) to operate a Mumbai-London flight was 11.20 hours then under the new draft CAR, a pilot operating a Mumbai-London flight will get only 14 hours of rest. The current rules allow for 19.10 hours of rest.
21/05/11 Manju V/Times of India

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FIEO calls for meeting with airlines, ground handling agency

Chennai: The Federation of Indian Exports Organisation (FIEO) has called for a meeting with all airlines and ground handling agency to sort out delay in cargo clearances at the city’s airport.
The FIEO Southern Region Chairman Mr Walter D’Souza has requested the Airport Authority of India Chairman to conduct a meeting with all the airlines, ground handling agency and the traders to sort out the issue which according to him was increasing day by day, a statement from FIEO here said.
Exporters of leather, engineering and electronic components products were facing serious problems in their inventory as they depended on instant delivery schedules, Mr D’Souza said.
He said besides lack of infrastructure, the airport was also facing acute shortage of trained manpower for handling the cargo operation. He requested the AAI to appoint an efficient ground handling services.
21/05/11 PTI/Business Line

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Air safety radars to be operational soon

Mumbai: Minor paperwork is the only formality left before the Mumbai airport’s air traffic managers begin tracking every airfield movement without straining their eyes. The surface movement radar (SMR), critical for congested airports such as the city airport, was being run on an experimental basis. This trial run ended successfully earlier this week.
“It would be operational soon after the necessary paperwork at the Delhi headquarters is completed,” said an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official requesting anonymity.
Air safety experts feel that a SMR would make the air traffic control’s (ATC) work simpler by ensuring proper coordination between ground and air traffic. At congested airfields such as Mumbai, these radars are necessary to avoid accidents. The ATC radars can trace flights above 500 metres but there is no device to monitor their movement as soon as they come close to the ground.
In addition to this, there are flights taxiing for take-offs and about 500 vehicles comprising catering vans, oil tankers and airline coaches plying on the airfield.
Registration numbers of these vehicles would be fed in the radar system, which will throw digital images of their airfield movement on the ATC official’s monitor. “At night and during cloudy days when the visibility drops, the radar would ease our pressure,” said an ATC official requesting anonymity.
20/05/11 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

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Chopper still grounded, Himachal to dump Jagson

Shimla: With Jagson Airlines buying more time from the state government to provide helicopter for operating VVIP and emergency flights, the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to dump the company and invite fresh offers from a reputed Indian company to take a reliable chopper on lease.
Highly placed sources said the company sent its reply on Wednesday to the notice served on it, seeking more time to provide the helicopter, which was grounded by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after it was sent for maintenance two and a half months ago.
General Administration Department Secretary Ajay Bhandari said: “We have received the reply from the company. The government is not convinced with the reasons given by the company. No further time can be given/or wasted as the state government is in urgent need of a helicopter. In fact, the company has taken a very long time to respond to the state’s demands.”
20/05/11 Ashwani Sharma/Indian Express

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Kerala CM reduces fuel prices, will Tarun Gogoi do the same

Guwahati: The new chief minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy, who assumed office yesterday after winning the assembly elections, announced a sales tax cut on the recently hiked petrol price. He declared that his new government has decided to waive the sales tax on the hiked portion of the petrol price, which would bring the price down by Rs.1.22 per litre.
It is to be noted that the oil marketing companies had recently increased the petrol price by Rs.5.39 per litre. The reduction in sales taxes in Kerala is expected to bring some relief for the public. Chandy’s stand with petrol prices, immediately after assuming the role of the chief minister has been taken in high spirits by the public and is considered as a welcome move. However the economists are raising concern as the state’s revenue would come down by around 131.94 cores with the cut in sales taxes.
The stand by the newly formed Kerala Government has set up an example for the rest of the governments recently formed in the other four states.
19/05/11 Times of Assam

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Alliance Air to boost service in Assam

New Delhi: In an attempt to ease passenger woes following suspension of operation by Pawan Hans, Alliance Air has announced increase in frequency of services to Tezpur and Lilabari.
Official sources said that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has decided to increase the services of Alliance Air to Lilabari and Tezpur due to halt in operations of Pawan Hans Helicopter services to Arunachal Pradesh.
Alliance Air is currently operates three services per week on Kolkata-Silchar- Tezpur - Silchar –Kolkata route. The services to Tezpur and Lilabari is now proposed to be increased to six flights per week.
The frequency of Kolkata-Guwahati-Lilabari-Guwahati-Kolkata is proposed to be increased to five flights per week. While additional flights covering Guwahati- Tezpur-Jorhat-Guwahati (two frequencies per week) and Guwahati-Lilabari-Tezpur-Guwahati (one frequency per week) are proposed to be introduced to ease the passenger load.
As reported, last week Minister DoNER, Bijoy Krsihna Handique convened a meeting of top officials of Civil Aviation Ministry, Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Airport Authority of India to resolve the crisis following suspension of helicopter services of Pawan Hans in the North-East.
18/05/11 Assam Tribune

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After heat over fake pilots, DGCA seat turns too hot to fill

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been in news for all the wrong reasons of late, after it was discovered that large-scale nepotism within the regulator’s office was leading to a number of ‘fake’ pilots taking to the skies.
No wonder the government has not received a single application from eligible candidates for the post of director general in the last two months.
The position had come up for renewal since the current incumbent, EK Bharatbhushan, lacks the mandatory 12-year aviation experience needed for the job and the government wanted an aviation professional to head DGCA, instead of an IAS officer, as has been the norm so far.
None of Bharatbhushan’s immediate juniors qualifies for the job as per the new criteria, which require 12 years of aviation, flying, aircraft, engineering or airworthiness experience. But what Bharatbhushan lacks in experience, he has more than made up with his sincerity in tackling the entire fake pilot scam.
Officials in the Ministry of Civil Aviation confirmed that not a single application has been received for the director general’s post and now the ministry has written to the Union Public Service Commission to relax the appointment criteria.
17/05/11 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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Carriers leave fares unchanged despite 3% slide in ATF prices

Mumbai: Indian carriers are not in a hurry to cut fares, even after state run oil marketing companies announced a 3% cut in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices Sunday night, the first in seven months. Airlines like Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and low fare carrier SpiceJet have not announced an immediate fare cut, since ATF cost has come down after 14 consecutive hikes in the past seven months.
In fact, ATF prices have risen 49% since October last year, which means the current price cut will not translate into much relief for airlines. Fuel expenses account for 40% of an airline’s operating cost.
A spokesperson from Jet, said, “There is no news on fare hikes from the airline.” Similarly, Kingfisher, SpiceJet, Indigo and GoAir have not announced any fare cut as yet.
17/05/11 Financial Express

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Now petrol is dearer than jet fuel

Mumbai: Jet fuel is cheaper than petrol now, but airlines do not appear to be in any mood to cut the fuel surcharge on tickets. With jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices dropping by over 2.9% and petrol prices rising by Rs 5 a litre, it's cheaper now to fuel a jet aircraft than it is to fuel your car. On Monday, the cost per litre of ATF in Delhi was Rs 58.8, while that of petrol was Rs 63.4. In Mumbai the gap between prices of aircraft and car fuel was wider than that of Delhi with ATF costing Rs 59.6 per litre while petrol stood at Rs 68.3 a litre.
The ATF prices went down on Sunday, after international oil rates slumped bringing about the first reduction in ATF costs this year. In Delhi, the ATF price fell by Rs 1,766/kilolitre, while in Mumbai the fall was Rs 1,827. The 3% fall in ATF prices is not going to translate into reduction in fuel surcharge. The reduction in ATF price has come after 14 successive hikes since October, 2010, when international crude oil prices started soaring.
But there is no respite for the passenger. If you are planning a last-minute summer holiday and have not booked your airline tickets yet, then the only good news is that fuel surcharge will not shoot up till the month end. Airfare still be on the higher side with the peak season demand influencing the prices.
16/05/11 Times of India

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Aviation fuel price balm after petrol blow

New Delhi: State-owned oil companies today cut jet fuel prices a day after raising petrol prices by Rs 5 a litre that triggered country-wide protests by the Opposition parties.

Jet fuel price in Calcutta is down 2.6 per cent to Rs 66,909 per kilolitre from Rs 68,681 per kilolitre.

The Rs 5-price-rise in petrol yesterday was the highest in 11 years, and the Opposition demanded a rollback in the policy on deregulation of petrol prices that gave the PSUs the freedom to raise prices. Further protests could be brewing if the empowered group of ministers next week decides to raise diesel, LPG and kerosene prices.

The price of aviation turbine fuel, or jet fuel, was lowered for the first time in seven months.

In Delhi, the jet fuel price was reduced by 2.9 per cent to Rs 58,794 per kilolitre, an official of Indian Oil Corporation said.

The new rates will come into effect from midnight tonight.

In Mumbai, the ATF price has been reduced by Rs 1,827 to Rs 59,602 per kilolitre.

The reduction in ATF price has come after 14 successive hikes since October, when international crude oil prices started soaring.

The ATF price in Delhi on October 1, 2010 was Rs 40,728.52 per kl. The rate was increased by Rs 19,831.48 per kl, or 48.7 per cent, till April 30.

16/05/11 The Telegraph

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Chopper rides in Mumbai now a breeze

Mumbai: With helicopter joy rides becoming affordable, Mumbaikars are taking to the skies to celebrate and surprise their friends and families.
On May 7, Rohil Paralkar, 26, decided to surprise his parents on their wedding anniversary. “My parents have never flown before, even on a flight. So I thought it would be nice to book them on a chopper joy ride on their special day,” said Paralkar, an advertising executive who stays in Sewri.
Airnetz Aviation is a charter/chopper provider that offers joy rides for an hour in Mumbai skies. “I had been inquiring with Airnetz about joy rides but they were too expensive.This month when I called up, I found out that prices were as low as Rs7,500 per person,” he said, adding, “So I thought I can really surprise my parents and give them an hour of adventure on their special day.They were so thrilled and found Mumbai fascinating from the clouds.”
Even Sameer Tandon (24) an MBA student from Prabhadevi, booked a joy ride for his girl friend on her birthday on May 3."Being an adventurous person, I wanted to do something different for her.
15/05/11 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

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Airlines liable to compensate passenger for delay due to fog

New Delhi: Airlines are liable to compensate its passengers for delays caused due to bad weather even though there may be no deficiency of service on their part, a city consumer forum has held.
A Delhi District Consumer Court gave this ruling while directing Oman Aviation Services to pay Rs 25,000 to a lawyer and his wife, who had to wait at Delhi Airport for 10 hours in December 2005 as their flight was delayed due to fog and low visibility.
"After going through the material on the record, we find that though there is no deficiency of service on the part of Oman Aviation Services, yet long waiting at the airport caused tiredness and inconvenience to the passengers, who felt frustrated and harassed.
"In these circumstances, to meet the end of consumer justice, we direct the Oman Aviation Services to pay a compensation of Rs 10,000 to each of the complainants (the advocate and his wife) and Rs 5,000 towards litigation expenses," a district consumer court bench headed by C K Chaturvedi said.
The court passed its order on a complaint filed by advocate Hardev Lal Kapur and his wife Sudesh Kapur, who had planned a trip from Delhi to United Arab Emirates via Muscat in December 2005.
14/05/11 PTI/Economic Times

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Airlines asked to explain on price hike by May 25

New Delhi: Officials of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) will meet private airline officials May 25 to seek their explanation on the sudden hike in fares during the 10-day strike by Air India pilots, an official said.
"Our officers will meet them on May 25. That day we will seek replies from them. This new date was set after our first meeting on Friday, when the airlines' officials requested for more time," a senior official with the competition watchdog said Saturday.
Earlier, notices were issued by CCI seeking an explanation from private sector airlines on allegations that they hiked fares to cash in on the strike when thousands of passengers, stranded after their Air India flights were cancelled, had to shell out between 50 percent and 75 percent more for bookings.
"The CCI is currently probing all angles like collusion and predatory pricing. They are expected to give a report by 60 days," the official said.
Passengers complained that the base fare on a Delhi-Mumbai flight, which goes up to Rs.2,400-Rs.3,000 for last-minute bookings, had gone up to as much as Rs.7,500 on some airlines, resulting in a total one-way cost of Rs.11,500, including various levies.
14/05/11 IANS/Economic Times

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Indian travellers to boost aviation, hospitality

With around 9 million Indian travellers all set to travel around the country and abroad this holiday season, the country's aviation and hospitality sector are expecting increased profits, says a report by an industry chamber.
According to information gathered by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) from its various regional offices across India, despite airlines gearing up to hike airfares, passenger traffic to popular tourist destinations in India and abroad is likely to escalate by 35 to 40 per cent and in some cases, by almost 50 per cent compared to last year.
"With huge disposable income and rising spending power of senior corporate executives, high-end professionals in private sector, government officials holding senior positions etc., this year more people are planning on vacationing abroad," said D.S. Rawat, secretary general, ASSOCHAM.
14/05/11 Times of India

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ATF prices to come down by 2% on global declining trend

New Delhi: After being increased 14 consecutive times over the last seven months, prices of aviation turbine fuel, or ATF, are set to dip by two per cent, or around Rs 1,200 per kilolitre, later this week, in tune with a decline in import parity prices. The move is expected to bring marginal relief to cash-strapped domestic airlines.

Oil marketing companies (OMCs) like Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum and Essar Oil are looking to cut prices around May 15 in tune with the declining global prices. The ATF price has jumped 50 per cent since October last year to Rs 60,560 per kilolitre (for Delhi).

Unlike diesel, kerosene and domestic LPG, ATF is a decontrolled product and OMCs can change its price on their own on a fortnightly basis. “The global trend for the current fortnight is a declining one. The OMCs will make a cut in ATF prices,” said an industry executive.

The rise in ATF prices, which constitute about 40 per cent of an airline’s operating cost, has been exerting continuous pressure on cash-strapped domestic carriers. In the case of low-cost carriers such as IndiGo and SpiceJet, the impact is more severe as the share of ATF in the total operating cost has gone up to 50 per cent.

13/05/11 Ajay Modi/Business Standard

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Choppers make pilgrimage a real walk in the clouds

Mumbai: There is good news in store for ardent pilgrims who have hitherto hesitated from undertaking the arduous the treks involved in the char dham yatra. A number of charter companies have introduced chopper services that will fly pilgrims into the lap of majestic Himalayas, enabling them to complete the char dham yatra in a completely stress-free manner.

The char dham yatra involves gruelling treks on steep and uneven terrain, and usually takes 12 to 14 days by road. The duration is further lengthened during inclement weather conditions or owing to natural calamities like landslides. This lengthy ordeal can now be curtailed to a mere two days.

"We are getting a great response from pilgrims. Due to precipitous curves and frequent landslides on this stretch, pilgrims face great difficulty in reaching the most revered pilgrimage sites. Many a time they find it difficult to even complete their yatra owing to these obstacles. But due to the introduction of these chopper services, this yatra can be safely conducted in two days. The choppers fly to a maximum height of 1,200 square feet," said Rohit Mathur, CEO of Heritage aviation, a charter company which is offering these services.

13/05/11 Bipin Kumar Singh/MiD DAY

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AAPSU demands CBI inquiry into chopper crash

Itanagar: The apex students’ organisation of Arunachal Pradesh, AAPSU, has demanded CBI inquiry into the April 30 helicopter crash that killed former Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four other persons.

The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU), which has been playing the role of watchdog in absence of a distinct Opposition in the State Assembly, urged the State Government to conduct a probe into the chopper crash by the premier investigating agency for a free-and-fair inquiry.

AAPSU, which had organised a candle-lit march at Akashdeep here in honour of late Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, who was laid to rest in his home town, Tawang on Tuesday itself, sought to know several queries pertaining to the air crash of the ill-fated Pawan Hans chopper in Luguthang area in Tawang district on April 30 last.

During the prayer meet, the AAPSU put a banner alongside the portrait of late Khandu that read: “Let CBI probe and make us know - 1) Who made the anonymous phone call..? 2) What happened to the black box..? 3) Why the emergency locating transmitter in the ill-fated helicopter did not work? 4) Detailed report of Air Traffic Control before taking off..! 5) Post-mortem report...viz. reason of the late CM’s death and timing of death! 6) Failure of ISRO and Sukhoi in locating the crash site...”

11/05/11 Assam Tribune

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One more fake pilot held, total arrest in such cases 19

New Delhi: One more pilot was arrested here for allegedly using forged marksheets to procure commercial flying licences, taking the total number of people arrested in such cases to 19.

The names of Jigesh G Bhai Patel and Saurabh P Lokhande have also been forwarded to Delhi Police's Crime Branch by airline regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which claimed that the duo submitted forged marksheets for obtaining the Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL).

Rohit Kapoor (22) was apprehended from R K Puram in south Delhi yesterday, Ashok Chand, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), said today.

Patel and Lokhande as well as a middleman are yet to be arrested, he said.

"This is the fourth module which we have cracked in this connection," Chand said, adding a total of five pilots and two middlemen are on the run.

With this, Delhi Police have arrested 11 pilots, three DGCA officials, a middleman and two forgers. Jaipur Police had also earlier arrested two fake pilots.

Police have so far cracked four modules involved in supplying forged marksheets to help people procure pilot licences.

Kapoor had joined a three-year diploma course in aeronautical mechanical engineering from an aviation academy in Hyderabad but left the course after completing two years as he did not find it useful.

12/05/11 PTI/Deecan Herald

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Airlines ask Maha CM to lower sales tax on aviation fuel

Mumbai: A delegation representing Federation of Indian Airlines met chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and made a strong case for a reduction in sales tax on air turbine fuel (ATF) in Maharashtra . The meeting held in Mantralaya on Wednesday.

The delegation , led by business tycoon Vijay Mallya , told Chavan that airlines preferred to refuel in other states due to the higher tax in Maharashtra .

The sales tax on ATFin the stateis 25%.Between 2008 and 2010, the state collected Rs 178 crore as sales tax on ATF. A total of Rs 44 crore has been collected as sales tax from the aviation industry during the first three months of 2011( January toMarch ). Whilethe average per liter ATF price during 2005-2007 was Rs 29 .70, it shotup toRs 34 .30 in 2008-2010 . For the first three months of 2011, the average per litre ATF price stood at Rs 42.20.

13/05/11 Sanjeev Shivadekar/Times of India

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Short-staffed DGCA seeks retired pros for critical posts

New Delhi: Plagued by severe staff shortage, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is looking to hire retired aviation experts as consultants for as many as 114 critical safety and oversight posts across the country.

Staff shortage, though being felt for months now, has become more annoying in the last few weeks after director general EK Bharatbhushan barred senior officials from taking decisions pertaining to airlines in which their children were employed.

The aviation regulator has now sought applications from retired government employees and other aviation industry officials who are not yet 65 years of age for several critical posts.

The gamut of safety related posts on offer is startling.

The regulator wants to hire short-term consultants for its air safety wing: director, two deputy directors, 5 assistant directors and six safety officers.

Notably, air safety director RS Passi was recently stripped of his position on charges that he influenced an airline to employ his daughter, who had failed the mandatory pilot test.

DGCA is also seeking applications for the posts of deputy director in operations, information & regulation, and aircraft engineering.

DGCA, which has around 130 people manning its offices across the country, has vacancies for an astounding 500 posts, created some months back. A long and tedious process of recruitment for these posts is making its task that much more difficult.

12/05/11 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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Airbus deal: Small rivals beat Infy, MSatyam

Two of India's biggest software firms -- Infosys and Mahindra Satyam -- have been outbid by smaller, niche rivals QuEST and Cades for an outsourcing contract potentially worth over $300 million from the world's largest commercial plane maker, Airbus. According to at least three people involved with the discussions, Airbus plans to outsource more design projects for its 380, A350 and A320 series of planes to vendors based in India to slash costs by up to 40% and focus better on competing with rivals such as Boeing.
These projects involve designing wings and other avionics systems for the planes and are more complex and better priced than traditional outsourcing work that include back office operations and writing software codes. "Airbus' strategy is two-fold -— give more work to hungry niche suppliers and develop a much bigger base of vendors in India for addressing the defense offset clause," said a person familiar with the aircraft maker's outsourcing strategy. He also confirmed that both QuEST and Cades have been given letter of intent (LoI) for this contract by Airbus.
Airbus and other Indian service providers had not responded to an email query sent by ET last week. By 2012, when Airbus readies its A350 planes, the company plans to send as much as 20% of all its projects to India. Much of this growth in outsourcing to India can be attributed to the country's defense offset clause that makes it mandatory for companies to source at least 30% of the value of contracts awarded from local suppliers.
10/05/11 Times of India

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CCI to probe fare rise during Air India pilots' strike

New Delhi: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has decided to probe why all domestic airlines raised airfares during the 10-day period of Air India's strike .
The competition watchdog issued a notice to this effect to all carriers on Tuesday.
Jet Airways , Kingfisher Airlines , IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir will have to present their cases to the CCI on May 13.
"We feel that passengers do not have an informed choice about fixing of ticket prices according to various fare buckets. Especially in an event like the AI strike, passengers are caught unawares. That's why we want to probe the matter," a senior CCI official told ET.
The CCI has also consulted the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on the matter and has sought information on how fares are fixed.
Even industry experts are of the view that airlines keep on resorting to such practices, citing ticket prices to Chandigarh for the World Cup cricket final between India and Pakistan or Delhi-Mumbai fares last Diwali.
11/05/11 Anindya Upadhyay/Economic Times

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DGCA to inspect all helicopters, airports

New Delhi: After the death of Arunachal Pradesh's Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu in a helicopter crash, the government has decided that top aviation watchdog, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), will carry out security audit of helicopters and aircraft of all operators in four weeks.

The DGCA will also conduct inspections of all critical airports and airfields within four weeks.

These decisions were taken after DoNER Minister BK Handique held a safety review meeting with the DGCA and aviation ministry officials.

Arunachal Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu was found dead in Luguthang, near the China border on May 4, five days after the helicopter that he was using went missing.

10/05/11 NDTV

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Dorjee Khandu cremated with full state honours

Tawang: Former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu , who was killed in a chopper crash, was cremated with full state honours at Shepedung near his native village in Tawang District.

Thousands of people turned up to attend the last rites of Khandu, who was cremated as per Buddhist traditions of the Monpa community.

Khandu and four others - crew members Captain J S Babbar and Captain K S Malick, Khandu''s security officer Yeshi Choddak and Yeshi Lamu, sister of Tawang legislator Tsewang Dhondup were killed in the chopper crash on April 30.

10/05/11 ANI/Economic Times

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N-E Ministry seeks PM help for better air connectivity

New Delhi: Days after former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu’s death in a chopper crash, the Ministry of Development for Northeastern region (DoNER) has sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention in asking the Civil Aviation Ministry to direct scheduled airlines to expressly operate their flights from Tezpur and Lilabari airports in Assam bordering the hilly state.

In a letter to Singh, DoNER Minister B K Handique said three helicopters had crashed within 11 days, between April 19 and 30, which had triggered a strong resentment among the locals in Arunachal Pradesh, more so following Khandu’s death.

The Centre should urgently act to improve connectivity in the remote areas of Northeastern states in view of the sensitivities of the hilly state that borders China as well as the “sentiments of the locals facing deprivation and helpless situation.”

10/05/11 Priyadarshi Siddhanta/Indian Express

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The 'other' AP Arunachal, not Andhra

Guwahati: It was exactly eight days ago that Arunachal Pradesh plunged into a psychological crisis. The state with the poetic name — land of the dawn-lit mountains — lost its chief minister. Literally so because the helicopter carrying Dorjee Khandu and four other people went missing. It would take till Wednesday, May 4, to find the ill-fated craft and its unlucky passengers. Arunachal grieved for its chief minister and at least some of its agony is admixed with angst for itself — did New Delhi and the rest of India care at all about events underway in the forgotten Himalayan state?
The single-engine Pawan Hans chopper took off from Tawang early on April 30. An hour later, it lost contact with Guwahati Air Traffic Control as it flew in the Sella Pass region at 13,700 feet. It must have crashed but it took more than a hundred hours to find the wreckage and bodies and another 24 hours to retrieve them.
Arunachalis say they are hurt by the lack of urgency — even interest — from New Delhi. This contrasts sharply with the response two years ago when Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's helicopter went missing.
Delhi's nonchalance about the disappearance of Khandu's helicopter had two-fold importance. For a craft to be untraced for days is a serious security lapse. Second, the Centre was lethargic in taking action.
In an indication of a general air of doubt of Indian claims, an old man in Tawang asks why the Indian Army, which is thickly spread through Tawang and West Kameng districts, was unable to see or hear the chopper.
Congress MP Takam Sanjay, who was actively involved in the search and rescue operations, expresses resentment at the slow Army mobilization to help look for the chopper. As the search entered its fourth day, some Arunachalis demanded that if India were unable to help, they should turn to the Chinese.
On day five, it was villagers around Tawang who trekked through the snow-clad mountains to locate the debris and charred bodies.
In his years in frontline politics, Khandu was sometimes called 'India's reply to China'. But when the man India needed most on its eastern border went missing, much of the country paid little attention.
08/05/11 Oinam Sunil/Times of India

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Failure to locate crash site raises security questions

Guwahati: The failure of Sukhoi-30, India’s multi-role military fighter aircraft for all weather and ISRO (India Space Research Organisation) in exact mapping of the crash site of Arunachal chief minister Dorjee Khandu’s helicopter in western Arunachal Pradesh raises security concerns about the state that shares border with China.
“If tomorrow the Chinese forces enter Arunachal Pradesh, how will our most potent aircraft hit the enemy positions correctly?” asked Bamang Tago, a state based RTI activist.
China has often claimed Arunachal Pradesh as its southern Tibet region.
Sukhoi-30 and ISRO’s mapping provided seven probable sites of the crash of the ill-fated helicopter.
But the wreckage of the helicopter carrying Khandu and four others, which went missing on Saturday, was found in Luguthang area in Tawang district on Wednesday. The place was not on the list of the probable sites.
Gumjum Haider, secretary general of North East Students Organisation (NESO), said the failure of the IAF’s most advanced fighter aircraft Sukhoi, Army, ITBP and IRSO’s satellite services had exposed the true state of Indian security agencies.
“With such incapable forces, we are not safe. If tomorrow China attacks Arunchal Pradesh then we will be overrun by the Chinese army. The government of India will not do anything for the people here,” said Haider.
07/05/11 Digambar Patowary/Hindustan Times

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Pawan Hans grounding stalls China border roads

Tawang: The grounding of helicopter operator Pawan Hans’ fleet after two shocking accidents in a fortnight near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh has claimed another casualty: Border Roads Organisation’s (BRO’s) strategic road building programme along the Sino-Indian border. With Pawan Hans’ helicopters no longer available to ferry bulldozers and materials to road building sites in remote areas, this crucial programme is experiencing further delay.
On April 19, a Pawan Hans Mi-172 helicopter had crashed near Tawang, killing 17 passengers as well as crew members and grievously injuring five more. On April 30, another Pawan Hans AS350 B3 helicopter crashed near Sela Pass, killing Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four others on board. Since then, Pawan Hans has suspended operations in the North-East region.
These grounded helicopters have been central to BRO’s success in by-and-large meeting tough road building schedules. Building sequentially, or starting from one end of a proposed road and working steadily to the other end, is a slow process. Instead, BRO divides roads into segments, selecting multiple ‘attack points’ to which road building materials are heli-lifted. Work then proceeds simultaneously from each attack point.
Among the first to be affected is the crucial road being built from Thingbu towards the 18,000-foot Tulung La Pass on the border, so far just a mule track on which the Chinese infiltrated in 1961 to outflank Indian troops ensconced on the mighty Sela Pass. Since BRO was using a Pawan Hans Mi-172 helicopter to carry a dismantled bulldozer to Thingbu, building has been stalled until it flies again. The Indian Air Force has already expressed its inability to support the BRO road building, since its helicopters are fully committed in provisioning the army’s remote border outposts.
08/05/11 Ajai Shukla/Business Standard

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Rights group demands Arunachal Governor’s recall

Itanagar: The Arunachal Citizens' Rights (ACR) group Friday urged the central government to recall Governor Gen (Retd) J.J. Singh for airing a wrong statement that the helicopter carrying Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu had landed safely.

'The governor has committed the gravest act of misconduct by irresponsibly airing false statements saying that all was well and the helicopter had landed safely with all the passengers onboard somewhere in Bhutan. Such grave lapses are not expected from the first citizen of the state and this needs to be addressed by the proper authority,' ACR chairperson Bamang Tago told IANS, while demanding Singh's recall.

Khandu and four others -- two pilots, a personal security officer, and the sister of the Tawang legislator -- were killed in the helicopter crash Saturday. The bodies were retrieved from the crash site at Lobotang near the 13,700 feet Sela Pass in Tawang district Thursday.

Questioning the serious lapses on part of all those concerned for the safety of the chief minister, the ACR demanded that the central government constitute a high-level enquiry committee to probe into the matter.

'It's surprising to note how such an important person was allowed to board a single- engine helicopter in a high altitude mountainous terrain like Tawang where the climate is perennially cloudy with visibility of not beyond a few hundred metres, and that too with only a single security officer to accompany him,' he said.

The rights activist also questioned why the government held the cabinet meeting after eight hours when the helicopter was reported missing at around 11.15 a.m. Saturday.

On the supposed telephonic conversation of the chief minister with Yashi Tsering, the commissioner to the chief minister, after the report that the helicopter had gone missing, Tago asked: 'Was our chief minister alive and did he make that call? What happened afterwards? Was there not one accident or a series of incidents leading to the crash and the tragic death of five people?'.

He said the government should also investigate as to who was responsible for reports that Khandu's chopper made an emergency landing in eastern Bhutan; was safe and will be touching Guwahati for refuelling on its way back to Itanagar on the same day.

06/05/11 Morungexpress

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Arunachal failure a black mark on ISRO

Bangalore: Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is said to be all set to join hands with United States' NASA in a moon mission. But, ironically, in its home land, the space agency is at the receiving end as it miserably failed to locate the chopper crash site that resulted in the death of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four others.

Not only that, ISRO even pointed towards the wrong location thus further complicating the search operations.

After four days of search by over 3,000 security forces and choppers, it was finally a group of tribals who found the wreckage of the missing helicopter and also the mutilated bodies of Chief Minister Khandu and others, without the help of any hi-tech equipment.

After it was roped in to trace the missing chopper, the ISRO deployed two satellites to trace the location where the chopper carrying the CM possibly crashed. It even released satellite images that show the weather condition and the terrain of the area where the chopper is believed to have gone missing. But later it was found that ISRO miserably failed in many respects, in pinpointing the crash site, or even the locality where the chopper could have possibly crashed.

The ISRO, based on the satellite images, said that it spotted metallic objects at a place called Nagarjiji area near the Sela Pass in Tawang. But the actual site where the crashed chopper located was far, far away, at the Lobotang area of the state's Tawang district.

06/05/11 CIOL

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Double-Engine Choppers Much Safer: Retd IAF Official

Guwahati:A retired IAF official today said a double-engine helicopter was much safer than the one which crashed in Arunachal killing Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four others.

Former Vice-Chief of staff of IAF, Air Marshal (retd) P K Borbora, said the double engine copters are 'definitely' much safer than the single-engine ones but several other factors come into consideration while flying a particular chopper.

"Of course several other factors including altitude and cost comes into consideration while flying these in mountainous terrains," Borbora told PTI here today.

Borbora, the only person from the region who has risen to become the Vice-chief of the IAF, was commenting on recent crashes of single engine helicopters within a span of fortnight in the hill state of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Assam government has already decided not to charter single-engine choppers in the state following the crash.

06/05/11 PTI/Outlook

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BS Yeddyurappa to curtail travel by choppers

Mysore: Amidst heightened concerns over the safety of choppers, Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, a frequent flier, today said he would curtail his travel by helicopter from next month.

"I have decided to cut the use of helicopter from next month. I will only be using the chopper to visit districts on two days -- Friday and Saturday," he told reporters in Mysore.

He, however, did not cite any reason for his decision to cut down travel by helicopters.

Yeddyurappa said he would be using the helicopter this month to fulfil his official engagements outside Bangalore.

06/05/11 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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CCI summons airline heads to explain spurt in air fare

New Delhi: The sudden spurt in prices of domestic air tickets, triggered by the employees' strike in the state-run Air India, have come under scrutiny of the anti-competition watch dog Competition Commission of India (CCI).

The investigation wing of CCI, headed by its director-general (DG), has asked senior executives of all low-cost airlines to explain the price increase that took place in the last 10 days. Around 800 pilots of Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), a union of erstwhile Indian Airlines pilots, are on strike since April 27 demanding pay parity with their Air India counterparts.

While the chief executive officer of GoAir is known to have explained his airlines' position today, several senior executives from other private airlines such as SpiceJet and Jet Airways have deposed before the investigation officer in the last few days.

GoAir’s CEO did not respond to phone calls and text messages. A SpiceJet executive declined to comment. “We have not been called by the CCI on the alleged fare increase issue following the Air India strike,” said a senior SpiceJet executive, who did not want to be identified. “The airlines said, about 20 per cent of their seats come within the high-price bracket. But how can they increase the price across all slabs?” a source close to the development asked.

07/05/11 Joe C Mathew & Mihir Mishra/Business Standard

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'Aviation industry requires $30 bn investment in next 15 years'

New Delhi: The Indian aviation industry requires $30 billion (Rs.135,000 crore) in the next 15 years to develop infrastructure and manpower to cope with increasing passenger and cargo traffic, a senior government official said Friday.

"We need around $30 billion-worth investment in various sub-sectors of the aviation industry, including infrastructure development and aircraft acquisition, in the next 15 years," Civil Aviation Secretary Nasim Zaidi said in his inaugural address during an industry summit here.

According to Zaidi, apart from investment, long-term planning and new regulatory framework were required to give a boost to the sector.

"We must have a long-term planning matched with a vibrant regulatory framework as Indian aviation has all the necessary ingredients to grow exponentially," Zaidi said.

Zaidi said that 12 greenfield airports were being developed in the country, as there was an ever increasing passenger traffic being witnessed by the industry.

The official data with the ministry has revealed that the industry has seen a passenger growth of 15 percent in 2010-11, and a total of 142 million passengers checked in and out of airports across the country.

Zaidi, who was speaking at an Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) event, added that aviation secretaries from all the states will soon meet to provide inputs for shoring-up of the aviation infrastructure.

06/05/11 IANS/Mangalorean

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Private copters for Maoist belt

New Delhi: The home ministry plans to hire military-class helicopters to ferry troops and supplies in the battle against Maoists, the first time such private choppers will be used in internal security operations.

Six new Mi-17 helicopters could be making sorties to rebel hotbeds like Chattisgarh’s Abujhmad and Bengal’s Lalgarh by August, ministry sources said. The choppers will be “wet leased”, which means the private operator will have to provide the pilots and engineers besides maintaining the aircraft and spending on fuel.

The move will help the ministry to reduce its dependence on the ministry of defence for flying paramilitary troops to rebel zones in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bengal, Orissa and other rebel-hit states, where thousands of paramilitary personnel are deployed along with the police of those states in anti-Naxalite operations. At least two of the six choppers could be stationed in Chhattisgarh, among the worst hit.

The choppers are being leased from a consortium of two companies, India’s Global Vectra and Russia’s Utair, chosen by the ministry last month after almost a year of examining proposals from several operators, the sources said.

Deploying military choppers in civilian areas may had initially sparked a debate but the security establishment argued they were needed to keep troop casualties down and fight Maoists in their strongholds.

07/05/11 Nishit Dholabhai/The Telegraph

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Boy’s flight of fancy stalled at take-off

Anirban Sannigrahi, the Calcutta youth arrested for forging a pilot’s licence after failing to get one with a fake mark sheet, had been disqualified from training at a city flying institute after flunking a preliminary ground test.

Anirban, the 21-year-old son of a businessman, had enrolled for a flying course at the Camellia Institute of Aviation in Behala in May 2007 but never made it past ground training, documents in Metro’s possession prove.

His family in Thakurpukur blamed touts in Delhi for his plight, saying they misled him while he was trying to get his American pilot’s licence “converted” in accordance with Indian aviation norms.

“We had sent him to Texas to train as a pilot, where he did very well. On returning, he was unable to convert his licence. He fell into the tout trap because he is very young,” uncle Animesh said.

But the results of a preliminary test conducted in June 2007 by the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) and the Behala institute show that Anirban wasn’t eligible to be a student pilot, let alone a licensed one.

Aviation rules stipulate that a candidate must score at least 50 per cent in each of the four categories in which they are tested before being cleared for cockpit and simulation training. Anirban, who had joined the Behala institute after Class XII, scored 40 per cent in air regulation, 45 per cent each in air navigation and aviation meteorology and 40 per cent in aircraft and engine basics.

His training log shows that Anirban didn’t do a single hour of flying at the institute. A student pilot needs to fly a minimum of 200 hours before applying for a commercial pilots’ licence.

Anirban’s mother Bulbul said her son attended the Behala institute for only a couple of months. “Hardly any classes were held and there was no examination.”

Bulbul said she and husband Ashok decided to send their son to the US after seeing his determination to complete his pilot training. “Since childhood, he has dreamt of nothing else but to become a pilot.”

Uncle Animesh said the family had no idea that Anirban was being “targeted” until April 15, when he received a phone call from the crime branch of Delhi police. “He was summoned and shown some photographs of touts. He identified a few of them.”

Bulbul insisted that her son never paid money to the touts to get a fake licence.

07/05/11 Sanjay Mandal and Jhinuk Mazumdar/The Telegraph

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Govt cracks the whip to curb nepotism in DGCA

New Delhi: In a bid to check rampant nepotism in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the government has for the first time ever barred DGCA employees whose children work in an airline from taking decisions relating to that carrier. On Tuesday, DGCA chief Bharat Bhushan passed an order for nine such officers — including two joint DGs, two directors and as many assistant directors.

"This decision has been taken and I have sought replies from the officials concerned. There will be zero tolerance on nepotism or any wrong doing," Bhushan said. These officers will now have to give files regarding airlines where their children work to the immediate subordinate for taking decisions.

The order covers joint DGs Charan Dass and A K Sharan and director (air safety) R S Passi. The daughters of Sharan and Passi had allegedly become pilots allegedly with more than a little help from the DGCA after having problems in their training schools and/or in passing exams. The two then went on to get jobs with leading private airlines. Bhushan had earlier removed Passi from airworthiness and not given any new charge. The allegations against Sharan that were first reported by TOI are still being probed.

07/05/11 Times of India

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The curious case of the air crash in Luguthang

In a few days the media is bound to leave totally behind the sad and untimely death of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Mnister Dorjee Khandu in the treacherous heights of Luguthang, a sleepy, remote village in his own constituency. Just like it was for Andhrapradesh’s YSR tragedy.Till another crash involving another VVIP, or till some yatras of heir apparent, the crash is going to evoke no further intrest for the national media-

Unless the origin of two calls from a satellite phone that were made to the cell phones of a Tawang MLA Tsewang Dhondup and principal secretary to the chief minister Yeshi Tsering in the afternoon of Saturday, 30 April are traced out.

Unless veracity of the account of the little scholl children in a remote Bhuttan village of sighting a similar color helicopter is verified.

Unless the reason for sudden inactivation of the transponder of the brand new helicopter is found out.

Unless the extraordinary failure of the ISRO satellites, and Sukhoi radars to ‘see’ the metallic debris a few kms from Tawang (even as they could count out another six possible sites between them) is accounted for.

Yes- There could be much more to the crash of the brand new Eurocopter AS350 B3 helicopter on April 30 and the deaths of CM Dorjee Khandu, crew members Captain J S Babbar, Captain T S Mamik, Khandu’s security officer Yeshi Choddak and Yeshi Lhamu, sister of Tawang MLA Tsewang Dhondup.
The copter that took off on Saturday from Tawang at 9:56 am for state capital Itanagar, was to land at Itanagar at about 11.30 am. But Guwahati air traffic control lost contact with the helicopter 20 minutes after take off.
The State machinery was alerted and a massive search was ordered- Only to cancel within a few hours.
Two phone calls were the reason.
Around 2.30 PM, MLA Tsewang Dhondup got the first call. Dhondup saw it was from a satellite phone and the voice was that of Chief Minister Khandu.
Now from a story published in The Telegraph:
The MLA informed the chief secretary and the principal secretary to Khandu that “he believed” it was Khandu who called him. The caller apparently said “he was taking off” presumably from somewhere in Bhutan. “We are trying to get details of that call,” said a source.There was one small snag here: Khandu did not have a satellite phone, not that the Centre knew of. Two, while there could have been such a phone aboard, the pilot would have used it to call the base station in all probability, the sources said. The misinformation that was spread through the media after that about the landing of his chopper could only end when Bhutanese authorities said they had no knowledge about any landing. The reports would eventually lead Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to call Governor J.J. Singh.The governor had earlier spoken to the media about Khandu’s reported landing in Bhutan.Around that time, the air force called off the search and rescue operations which triggered speculation that the search operation.
From a PTI report:
Chief secretary Tabom Bam said in the afternoon that the chopper which lost contact with ATC in the morning had landed safely at Daporijo in Upper Subansiri around 2:30 pm.Bam said that he was not been able to contact Khandu personally, but the Sashastra Seema Bal had confirmed that Khandu and those with him were safe. “The IGP (SSB) has confirmed he is safe.”
The Hinustan Times had the details of the 2nd call and more information regarding the first call:
Dhondup, whose sister Yeshi Lamu was also on the chopper, received a call around 1.30pm from a satellite phone he believes belonged to Khandu. The caller said the chopper had landed in eastern Bhutan. The caller contacted principal secretary to the chief minister Yeshi Tsering in Itanagar too, saying Khandu was safe. The calls came a couple of hours after the helicopter disappeared on Saturday morning. Deepak Kumar, inspector general of police, wrote to the state’s home secretary, AK Srivastav, outlining the contents of the call Tsering received.“I asked Tsering if the call received was from the chief minister,” Kumar said. “He said the voice sounded like the CM but he could not identify it.”
Now another PTI report:
Chief secretary Tabom Bam said in the afternoon that the chopper which lost contact with ATC in the morning had landed safely at Daporijo in Upper Subansiri around 2:30 pm.Bam said that he was not been able to contact Khandu personally, but the Sashastra Seema Bal had confirmed that Khandu and those with him were safe.
But the State Government officials later said CM did not carry a satellite phone. Pawan Hans people said there were no sat phone in the copter.

Then who made the call?

06/05/11 Jacob K Philip/Decision Height

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DGCA suspends Pawan Hans helicopter services across NE

Guwahati: The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has finally suspended commercial operations of Pawan Hans helicopters across the northeastern region, a move which came only after Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu died in a chopper crash off Se La Pass in Tawang district on Saturday.
On April 19, a Pawan Hans MI-172 helicopter crashed at Naharlagun, killing 17 people on board. But the DGCA action suspending chopper services came after 11 days when the next tragedy struck - this time killing the chief minister himself.
Captain Mahal, deputy general manager (operations) of Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited, said, "Yes, our operations in the northeast have been suspended following the mishap in which the Arunachal Pradesh chief minister died. The DGCA is carrying out checks and reviewss of our choppers deployed in the region. Various teams have been formed to carry out checks and I cannot relay how long this process would take."
Sources in the Arunachal Pradesh civil aviation department said the chief minister was always using a twin- engine chopper from the available fleet in the state. It was the first time that Khandu was allocated a single-engine helicopter exclusively for his use that ultimately crashed.
Pawan Hans authorities said Khandu's chopper was a new one and was given on lease to the Arunachal Pradesh government on December 5, 2010. "The brand new helicopter was acquired in mid-2010. Till date, the helicopter has flown 306 hours and done 577 landings. It has done most of the flying in the northeast," said deputy general manager (engineering) Sanjeev Razdan in a statement.
Mahal said the DGCA, among other things, would look into what went wrong with the emergency locator transmitter (ELT). "The helicopter, with the chief minister on board, was fitted with the latest ELT, which transmits signals on heavy impact. These can be picked by ISRO satellites and any other aircraft flying over it. This equipment is basically to locate the chopper in case a mishap takes place. The ELT is activated automatically and since no signals were picked up by satellites, it could be that the ELT did not activate and this is what which should be looked into," he said.
06/05/11 Times of India

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DGCA calls helicopter operators' meet

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) called a meeting of all helicopter operators on Thursday, following the death of Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu in a chopper crash on Saturday. DGCA has asked all helicopter operators to follow Civil Aviation Requirements and Aircraft Rules, especially when flying VIPs, sources said.
"The helicopter carrying the Khandu was flying at a very high altitude and had a single engine, both of which are not allowed," said a DGCA official.
DGCA chief EK Bharat Bhushan couldn't be reached for comments over the phone despite repeated attempts.
The ministry has also appointed a committee of inquiry headed by Air Marshal (Retd.) PS Ahluwalia to inquire into the circumstances of accident of Pawan Hans helicopter. The committee will also make recommendations to avoid recurrence of such accidents in future.
05/05/11 Hindustan Times

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After Arunachal tragedy, Dhumal tells GAD to take due precautions

Learning lessons from the helicopter crashes that killed Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu last week and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S R Reddy in 2009, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal is now cautious and wants a “safe” chopper for emergency flights in the hill state.
Particularly against single-engine choppers, Dhumal had a twin-engine Italian AgustaWestland AW139, the personal helicopter of Congress MP and Haryana industrialist Naveen Jindal, hired for flying to Haripurdhar on Wednesday. From Shimla, Haripurdhar is nearly 220 kilometre by road on a tough terrain.
With the Jagson Airlines helicopter taken on ‘wet lease’ by the state earlier this year grounded on the orders of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) two months ago, Himachal Pradesh does not have an official helicopter at present to fly its VVIPs to remote and inaccessible areas. The CM had been initially using a single-engine small helicopter as an alternative. But after Khandu’s chopper went missing, the CM’s office wrote a strong note to the General Administration Department (GAD) to arrange a “safe and bigger” helicopter.
06/05/11 Ashwani Sharma/Indian Express

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Tearful adieu to Khandu at Itanagar

Itanagar: Many sobbed as the body of Arunachal chief minister Dorjee Khandu was brought to Itanagar on Thursday from Lubuthang, a remote village in West Kameng district where a Pawan Hans chopper carrying him and four others crashed six days ago.
The crash took place on April 30 shortly after the helicopter left Tawang for Itanagar. Villagers from Keyla spotted the bodies of the victims and the wreckage of the chopper on Wednesday.
People lined the road from Raj Bhavan helipad to the CM's bungalow to have a last glimpse of the leader whom they fondly called Laughing Buddha. Braving the scorching heat, they waited for hours since morning. They broke down when Khandus's body was taken to his house in a glass cascade.
ITBP presonnel presented a guard of honour when two IAF choppers landed at the helipad with Khandu's body accompanied by his second wife, Rinchin Drema, eldest son Pema, brother Goleng Khandu and Lok Sabha member Takam Sanjoy.
Governor Gen. (retired) J J Singh and Union ministers B K Handique, Salman Khursheed, Mukul Wasnik, V Narayansamy and Vincent Pala laid wreaths on the cascade. As priests from different religions chanted hymns, mourners offered their tributes to Khandu inside the waiting room of his house where his body was kept.
06/05/11 Times of India

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BJP demands thorough inspection of Pawan Hans helicopters

New Delhi: In the wake of Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu's death in a chopper crash, the BJP today demanded that all helicopters belonging to the government-owned Pawan Hans be subjected to "thorough and rigid" inspection.
"BJP demands immediate, thorough and rigid inspection of all the 40 helicopters with Pawan Hans afresh and assurance of its overall safety to all the passengers. The government must also immediately okay acquisition of 15 new helicopters worth Rs600 crore as proposed by the company," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.
He also insisted that old helicopters should be phased out immediately and replaced by new ones. The Rajya Sabha MP said the government should provide budgetary support for acquiring 25 more choppers.
The main opposition alleged that the poor state of affairs in Pawan Hans was due to government apathy over the years.
05/05/11 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Police arrest two more fake pilots

New Delhi: The crime branch of Delhi Police have arrested two more pilots who had obtained license on the basis of fake documents. The arrested pilots have been identified as Captain Param Prakash (21) and Captain Anirban Sannigrahi (22) and both have obtained license through fake documents from an agent who is absconding.
Param, a resident of Palwal in Haryana, was arrested on April 28 while Anirban was arrested on Monday. "Param after completing his Class 12 in 2006 joined Kanpur Flying Club and completed his flying hours. He could not clear Aviation Meteorology paper and in December 2008, he met a contact in Delhi who told him that on payment of Rs1 lakh he would provide him with a result card that would reflect that he had passed Aviation Meteorology paper," said Ashok Chand, DCP (crime).
Param reportedly paid Rs 50,000 to that agent and got a forged result card of passing the Aviation Meteorology paper. On the basis of forged documents he got the commercial pilot license (CPL) in May 2009.
Anirban after completing his Class 12 from Kolkata joined the Kolkata Flying School in May 2007. But due to unavailability of flight instructor and no Air Worthiness Certificate from the flying school, he could not fly even a single hour at the flying club. After that in September 2007, he went to Texas, USA and joined Marc-Air-Incorporation Flying Club.
06/05/11 Hindustan Times

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Nerul heliport gets Ministry of Defence approval

Mumbai: The Union Ministry of Defence (MoD), which had earlier objected to the construction of heliports, has given its go-ahead for the setting up of a state-of-the-art heliport which is proposed to come up in sector-30 at Nerul in Navi Mumbai, according to a Times of India report. However, another proposal for setting up a heliport in the sea off Nariman Point has suffered a setback. The MoD has blocked clearance for this site. A clearance from the MoD was required for both sites as these are situated close to defence installations.
A missile testing station of the Indian Air Force is situated near the Nerul site, while INS Kunjali, a naval installation, is located close to the proposed Nariman Point site. Maharashtra govt officials have confirmed that a communication from the MoD granting permission for the Navi Mumbai site was received four days ago. The state government is keen to offer commercial heliports at the two sites as an alternative for speedy travel within Mumbai and its peripheral areas. Sources have said that a formal clearance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will now be sought for the Nerul site. The DGCA has already indicated its willingness to sanction the proposal.
A no-objection from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (the site also falls in the coastal regulation zone) has already been procured. The government is keen to float tenders for the construction work on the site by June, 2011 .
05/05/11 TravelBizMonitor

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DGCA warns staff with kin in airlines

India’s aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has barred nine of its officers from taking any decisions regarding airlines where their wards work, as part of an ongoing campaign to cleanse the system.
In a 3 May note issued with the approval of DGCA director general Bharat Bhushan and reviewed by Mint, the regulator asked joint director general Charan Dass whose ward works in SpiceJet Ltd, joint director general A.K. Sharan whose ward works for IndiGo, run by InterGlobe Aviation Pvt. Ltd, director of airworthiness V.P. Massey whose wards work for SpiceJet and IndiGo, director of air safety R.S. Passi whose ward works for SpiceJet, and five others from having anything to do with the respective airlines.
Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, Jet Airways (India) Ltd and Air India Ltd are other airlines employing wards of senior DGCA officials.
While there is no evidence yet that these officers favoured the airlines that employed their wards, investigations by Mint and The Times of India have shown that wards of Passi and Sharan were hired as pilots despite concerns about their ability to safely pilot aircraft.
“There is a question of collateral responsibility. This officer sitting in DGCA has obviously used his influence to get his ward in to one of the airlines. That’s an inference you can draw. And I would readily draw that inference,” Bhushan said in an interview on 28 March.
06/05/11 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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Villagers succeed where hi-tech failed

Itanagar/Guwahati: The bodies of Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu and four others were spotted in an inaccessible village in Tawang district on Wednesday, five days after the helicopter flying them to Itanagar went missing.
Army, IAF, SSB and ITBP rescue teams scoured the forested area for four days, but in vain. ISRO satellite images and aerial mapping by Sukhoi aircraft also failed to locate the crash site. A foot patrol finally located the wreckage.
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The curious case of the air crash in Luguthang
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"A village defence party member named Thuptem identified Khandu's body. The bodies of three other passengers were charred beyond recognition," said Union minister for development of northeastern region Bijoy Krishna Handique.
Thuptem, along with his residents from Keyla village, sighted the wreckage of the Pawan Hans Eurocopter B3 at Luguthang, about 14,000 ft above sea level. Details of how the villagers reached the spot were awaited. It would take more time to retrieve the bodies because of the difficult terrain, Handique told reporters in Itanagar.
An IAF MI-17 helicopter confirmed the detection of the wreckage site, which falls in Muko, Khandu's home constituency, after the villagers from Keyla informed the control room in Itanagar about their sighting. An SU-30 from Tezpur relayed minute-to-minute updates (from the MI-17) to the operation centre.
Handique said an IAF Chetak helicopter would take the bodies to Tawang from where they might be flown to Itanagar with the consent of the victims' families.
On Saturday morning, Khandu's helicopter lost radio contact about 20 minutes after it took off from Tawang. Besides the CM, his personal security officer, Yeshi Choddak, Yeshi Lhamu (sister of Tawang MLA Tsewang Dhondup) and pilots Capt J S Babbar and Capt T S Mamik were on board. The chopper had last made radio contact while flying over over Se La, a rocky mountain pass 13,700 ft above sea level.
05/05/11 Times of India

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Tech fails, villagers score

Old-fashioned human endeavour scored over satellites and radars in locating the wreckage of Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu’s chopper on Wednesday. On Wednesday, Luguthang village panchayat leader Thupten Tsering and some 40 others beat Isro’s satellite imagery and IAF Sukhoi-30s infra-red aerial mapping to locate the wreckage at 16,000ft. Luguthang wasn’t one of the eight spots, six in India and two in Bhutan, that Isro and IAF zeroed in on as possible sites.
Security forces spent the entire day on Tuesday trying to trek to two satellite-guided spots, one (Nagarjiji) in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh and the other north of Thongrong in Bhutan. They found nothing there.
Technical experts and IAF officers attributed the ‘off-target’ infra-red readings to the inclement weather that haunted the hunt. “Cloudy conditions added to the delay in locating the chopper,” a defence spokesperson said.
Not all are convinced with this answer. “Technology and forces can fail for a day or two, but not for five days at a stretch,” said Takam Tatung, president of the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union.
04/05/11 Rahul Karmakar/Hindustan Times

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Was chopper with Khandu on board not on usual flight path?

New Delhi: Was the ill-fated helicopter of Arunachal Pradesh CM Dorjee Khandu , who was killed in a crash, not on the flight path usually taken by an aircraft in those areas?
Sitaram Yechury, who heads the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, which also covers Civil Aviation , said, quoting "initial reports" that the helicopter which crashed with the Arunachal Pradesh CM and four others on board was not on the flight route usually taken in those areas.
"On what basis the path was cleared, who cleared it, the weather reports, all have to be taken into account during the investigations," Yechury said while releasing the report by his Committee on helicopter operations in the country.
In its report, the Committee said pilots flying VIPs are often "put under pressure" to take off with minor defects and adverse weather conditions in their helicopters and asked the government to penalise those asking them to do so.
It also expressed concern over the instances of forceful landings, take offs of helicopters in low visibility, bad weather and even during nights, which are serious breaches of aviation security norms.
The Committee recommended that, "pilots be provided adequate legal protection to decline to fly in absence of mandatory technical or weather clearances.. Some kind of penal provision may be considered against those putting such pressure on them without clearances."
05/04/11 PTI/Economic Times

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Crew flying Khandu was highly trained: Pawan Hans

Under fire for the recent crashes involving its helicopters, Pawan Hans Helicopters on Wednesday said that the crew flying late Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu was one of the best the company had.
It also claimed that its crew members were highly experienced and mature and were drawn from the defence services.
Pawan Hans Deputy General Manager (Engg) Sanjeev Razdan said in a press release that Capt J.S. Babbar and Capt T.S. Mamik, who were flying the ill-fated chopper carrying Khandu, were ex-army pilots with flying experience of around 4,000 hours and 3,200 hours respectively.
Both of them held valid Commercial Helicopter Pilot Licence, he said.
"Both the pilots have been periodically subjected to proficiency test and found competent to operate flights in every respect," the press release said.
The death of Khandu and four others in the helicopter crash has put Pawan Hans under the scanner. The company has been under fire after a spate of crashes in recent months, including the one in Arunachal on April 19.
Soon after Khandu's Eurocopter went missing on April 30, the Arunachal government banned the services of Pawn Hans Helicopters. The Meghalaya government too followed suit.
04/05/11 PTI /Headlines Today/India Today

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Launch of Deccan Charters flights to be delayed

Surat: The Deccan Charters Limited is likely to delay the operational launch of the intra-state commercial air services from Surat and Ahmedabad following the non-clearance of the aircraft by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Earlier, the flag off ceremony of the inaugural flight by chief minister Narendra Modi on April 29 was put off pending aircraft clearance, but chairman of Deccan Charters Limited, Capitan GR Gopinath had announced there would be no delay in the operational launch of the intra-state air services connecting important cities in Gujarat from May 7.
Official sources said the DGCA and the Union ministry of civil aviation are busy tackling the Air India pilots' strike. However, the clearance of the aircraft is pending without which the company is unable to begin the commercial air services from May 7.
The first of its kind intra-state air services was seen as an important development in strengthening of the inter-connectivity by air in the state with Surat and Ahmedabad as hubs.
04/05/11 Melvyn Thomas/Times of India

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Arunachal Pradesh CM Dorjee dead in chopper crash

Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, who went missing on Saturday on a flight from Tawang, is dead along with four others after their helicopter crashed in bad weather in the mountains and their bodies and the wreckage were located today.
The five, including two pilots, who took off in a single-engined EuroCopter B8 of Pawan Hans, perished in the crash and the bodies and wreckage of the chopper were spotted in a place between Kyela and Lobothang in the mountainous region of the state this morning.
"The Chief Minister and four others are dead," Union Minister for Development of Northeastern Region B K Handique told a press conference here this evening.
The other occupants of the helicopter were pilots Capt J S Babbar, Capt T S Mamik, Khandu's security officer Yeshi Choddak and Yeshi Lhamu, sister of Tawant MLA Tsewang Dhondup.
Handique said operations for recovery of the bodies were on and would continue through the night and, if necessary, tomorrow morning.
Bodies will be picked up one after the other and transported. A decision will be taken whether to bring them to Tawang or to Itanagar, he said.
Handique had earlier in the day said a relative of 56-year-old Khandu, who has been Chief Minister twice, and a panchayat leader from his constituency identified his body.
The panchayat leader Thupten from Kyela village of Khandu's Mukto constituency, first informed an official Rinchin of his sighting the body which was passed on Tawang Deputy Commissioner Hamli Padu, who alerted the army base at Kyela, Handique reporters here.
Handique said a state mourning will be declared once the body of the Chief Minister is recovered.
The Minister said all the bodies were lying in a deep gorge in Kyela near Luguthang at an altitude of 4,500 metres about 6 hours by foot from Luguthang Gompa in Tawang district.
Some villagers had reportedly reached the site of the crash of a helicopter and communicated to the control room in Itanagar that they had identified two bodies while three were charred beyond recognition.
04/05/11 PTI/Deccan Herald

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Arunachal CM's relative identifies his body

Itanagar: A relative and panchayat leader of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu's Assembly constituency has identified his body, according to Union Minister for Development of North Eastern region BK Handique.
He told reporters that the panchayat leader Thupten has identified the body of 56-year-old Dorjee while the other four bodies have been charred beyond recognition.
The minister, however, said that only after the divisional commissioner takes charge of the body and the formalities are completed, they could officially confirm news about Dorjee.
Asked about the successor to Dorjee, he said, "Everything will be taken care of."
04/05/11 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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'Chopper carrying Khandu was new, but unfit for such terrain'

New Delhi: The helicopter ferrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu , which crashed last Saturday, was new and registered in July last year, but it had just one engine and hence was deemed unfit for such terrain, aviation experts said.
As per the new norms of civil aviation requirements issued June 1 last year, any single-engine chopper can be deployed only on those routes, or areas, that permit the execution of a forced landing, said a top official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
"The new norms also clearly say single engine machines shall not be operated at night or in instrument meteorological conditions, and an exception is only given when visibility is much, much better than normal," the official said.
In aviation parlance, instrument meteorological condition refers to weather situations that require the use of external navigation and landing instruments, rather that visual aids, which permit the pilots to manoeuvre and land manually, without difficulty.
"But as per our preliminary reports, the weather conditions were hardly conducive for a single-engine operation," the official told IANS, requesting anonymity. "Our officers will conduct the inquiry. But state government has to give some answers."
The official said the chopper -- AS 350 B3 of Eurocopter, nicknamed "Ecureuil", which means squirrel in French -- had a single Turbomeca engine, bore serial number 4991, was registered as VT-PHT on July 7, 2010, and pressed into service in December last year.
Among 11 such Ecureuil choppers deployed in India, this helicopter had been issued a certificate of airworthiness from July 21 for five years, and had completed 306 hours of flying and 577 landings.
A Pawan Hans official said they had leased the helicopter to the government of Arunachal Pradesh, but it was not meant for ferrying the chief minister. For him, a Global Vectra, twin-engine chopper, also leased from Pawan Hans, was earmarked.
"But the decision on which chopper to use was with them, not us," he said.
Pawan Hans also said both Capt. T.S. Malik and Capt. J.S. Babbar, who flew the ill-fated chopper, were experienced pilots with flying hours respectively of over 4,000 hours and 3,200 hours. Both had been cleared for special operations.
04/05/11 IANS/Economic Times

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Pawan Hans office attacked after Arunachal CM's death

Itanagar: Angry protesters attacked the local Pawan Hans office, breaking window panes and ransacking furniture after reports that the missing chopper carrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu had crashed.
A group of youths ransacked the Pawan Hans office in Maharlagun, 14 km from Itanagar, police said.
The glass panes of the director's chamber and booking counter were damaged in the attack, they said.
However, no one was injured, police said, adding the employees fled from the office after the protesters swooped on the building.
A pall of gloom descended on the state capital with thousands thronging Khandu's official bungalow at Niti Vihar here. Ministers, MLAs and senior officials were hesitant to talk.
04/05/11 Press Trust of India/NDTV.com

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Sharad Yadav for Revamp of Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd

Lucknow: JD(U) president and former civil aviation minister Sharad Yadav today said the state-owned Pawan Hans helicopter service was not working properly and the organisation should be revamped.
"Pawan Hans is not working properly and the government should revamp the organisation," Yadav told reporters here on a question on recent accidents involving Pawan Hans choppers.
Alleging laxity on the part of Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the JD-U leader said it should function more strictly.
04/05/11 PTI/Daijiworld.com

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Arunachal Pradesh CM's chopper found, 3 bodies recovered

The wreckage of the missing Pawan Hans helicopter carrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four others was found in Lobotang area near Jang waterfall in Tawang district on Wednesday morning.
According to sources the search parties have traced the crash site and located three bodies there. The bodies have not been identified yet.
However, there is no official confirmation of Khandu's death.
"The search party has sighted what appeared to be the site of the crashed chopper. The party also said that they have sighted three bodies. They have not reached the site yet,” Home Minister P Chidambaram said.
The chopper carrying Dorjee Khandu and four others went missing on Saturday and the last radio contact with the ground was about 20 minutes after take off as it flew over the Sela Pass along the Chinese border.
Khandu was accompanied by two of his personal aides and had taken off from Tawang at 9:56 am on Sunday and was suppose to land at Itanagar at 11:30 am. It was last sighted at Sela Pass, 20 minutes after taking off from Tawang.
04/05/11 Samay Live

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Absence of mobile signal, locater hampers search

Guwahati: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu would have definitely had his mobile phone with him when the Pawan Hans chopper went missing on Saturday morning.
But assuming that the chopper — a Eurocopter-built five-seater single engine AS350-B3 — landed safely in a remote location, it was not possible for him to reach out to anybody through his mobile.
“Tawang as a district has only three base trans-receiver stations (BTS), with each of them covering an area of 5-6 km in radius. And, given the topography of the district, mountain ranges often create barriers for signals to move,” a senior BSNL official based in Itanagar said on Tuesday.
While a mobile BTS normally covers 5-6 km radius in the plains, the signals might work even up to 10-15 km in hilly terrain. But people located in valleys between two steep mountain ranges are normally not in the network, he said.
The Nagar GG (grazing ground) area that has been pinpointed for focused search is one of the vast tracts in Tawang district that shares about 100 kms of international boundary with China.
Nagar GG adjoins Sela Pass, located at a height of about 14,000 feet, and is not covered by any mobile BTS.
“We don’t have any BTS in the Sela range. While the Army has its own radio network, mobile signals sometimes work like magic in Sela as well as Jaswantgarh from the Tawang or Dirang BTS provided the weather is clear. Those signals, however, do not last long,” the BSNL official said.
04/05/11 Samudra Gupta Kashyap/Indian Express

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