Fit to fly, says govt amid airworthiness debate

The helicopter that disappeared from radar screens with the Andhra Pradesh chief minister on board was fit to fly, a statement released by the civil aviation authority said this evening, amid raging questions about its airworthiness.
The Andhra Pradesh Aviation Corporation Limited said the helicopter had a “valid certificate” of airworthiness till December 5, 2010, and “fully airworthy” and “suitably equipped” for the planned 600km flight to Chittoor from Hyderabad.
Earlier searches on the Directorate General of Civil Aviation website had shown that the 10-year-old aircraft had not been certified in the last two years, but officials said the site had not been updated properly, which is why it gave an erroneous picture.
Officials of the DGCA, the civil aviation regulator, said all aircraft that flew out of an airport had to file their flight plan, copy of the airworthiness certificate and pilot licence with the authorities before taking off.
A statement released by the aviation corporation said the two pilots, Capt. S.K. Bhatia and Capt. M.S. Reddy, were fully qualified and experienced.
While Capt. Bhatia had flying experience of more than 5,600 hours, Capt. Reddy had logged more than 3,200 hours of flying.
Official sources said the chopper had fuel for a maximum endurance of three hours, about an hour more than what a helicopter usually takes to reach Chittoor from Hyderabad.
02/09/09 Jayanta Roy Chowdhury & GS Radhakrishna/The Telegraph

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Sep 2009, Safety Sep 2009