Deccan Aviation helicopter pilots held for breaching PM’s security

Shimla: Two pilots of a helicopter, hired by the ruling Congress party for its election campaign in Himachal Pradesh, were arrested when they landed their chopper in a helipad in Bilaspur when the Prime Minister was just to take off from there.
Police took Colonel K Mehta and co-pilot Colonel S M Sehgal into custody when they landed the helicopter for picking up Congress leader R K Dhawan even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was about to take off for Palampur to address an election rally, Additional Superintendent of Police Bimal Bupta said.
Singh had just completed an address at an election rally in Bilaspur.
The make-shift helipad already had three helicopters lined for the VVIP take off, sources said, adding that the Deccan Aviation crew virtually force-landed despite warnings from the ground staff. An FIR under Section 336 of IPC and Section 11 of the Aircraft Act 1934 has been registered against the pilots at Sadar police station, police said. In the evening, DGP Ashwani Sharma told The Indian Express that the helicopter had been detained at Bilaspur and the pilots were arrested, but were released on bail.
17/12/07 Indian Express

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: General Aviation Dec 2007, Safety Dec 2007