Modi's wings clipped!

Gandhinagar: Gujarat government does not have a dedicated pilot to fly the new Rs 42-crore French-made chopper, Dauphin N3, that it pressed into service just a month ago to fly Chief Minister Narendra Modi and other VVIPs around.
Every time a VVIP needs to fly in the six-seater aircraft, pilots of Pavan Hans, a Government of India company, are flown in all the way from Mumbai.
The new chopper was lying idle for last six months and was sent to France for repairs. While it was being brought to Ahmedabad from Delhi after getting DGCA clearance last year, a bird-hit caused some damage.
The situation has come to such a pass as two pilots, who were trained in France, left for greener pastures soon after the training. The Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has barred the third pilot from flying.
Sources say Captain Ajay Chauhan, director of civil aviation, government of Gujarat, who was sent to France for training to fly the chopper, has been barred by the DGCA.
19/05/08 Rajiv Shah/Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General May 2008