Joint probe team named to probe Mumbai chopper incident

New Delhi: As civil and military officials apparently fought over sharing of information relating to the near-miss incident involving a helicopter of the Presidential entourage in Mumbai, the government today set up a joint investigation team from both sides to investigate the serious incident.
The team, headed by Director General of Civil Aviation S N A Zaidi, would have one representative from the Airports Authority of India which supervises the civilian air traffic control and an Indian Air Force official. The team has been tasked to submit its findings within a fortnight, it was officially announced here.
The near-miss had occured on February nine when an Air India flight IC-866 had to abruptly abort take-off from the Mumbai airport as the pilot spotted an IAF helicopter, part of the Presidential entourage, landing about 300 km away on the same runway.
The Zaidi panel has been asked to determine the circumstances in which the "serious incident" took place, to identify the factors which led to it, ascertain whether the Standard Operating Procedures were followed by the concerned personnel and agencies and recommend remedial measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents, an official spokesperson said.
Besides Zaidi, the other members are AAI Executive Director Vinod Kumar Yadava and Group Capt Alok Kumar, Director (Helicopter Operations) of the IAF.
19/02/09 PTI/The Hindu

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Categories: Air India Domestic Feb 2009, Airports Feb 2009, NACIL Feb 2009, Safety Feb 2009