'No prior info on PM movement'

Shimla: Commenting on the PM's security breach, an Air Deccan spokesperson said in New Delhi that their helicopter had the required ATC and defence clearances to land in Bilaspur.
The spokesperson said no prior information of the PM's movement was provided to the airline. "Our pilot and helicopter were released later."
The airline, in turn, has shot off a letter to the civil aviation ministry, asking it to fix blame for the lapse in security.
Since there is no ATC at the airstrip, pilots use visual flight rule or simply their eyes to land. But permission is taken from the local administration before landing. Sources in the civil aviation ministry said the Bilaspur district administration hadn't issued an embargo to aviation authorities, including the Air Deccan, for Monday. The Air Deccan helicopter landed at a safe distance from the PM's chopper, the sources said.
18/12/07 Ravinder Makhaik/Times of India

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

Categories: General Aviation Dec 2007, Safety Dec 2007