Low-flight alert over red zones

Raipur/Ranchi: The Chhattisgarh government has issued a directive to chopper and aircraft pilots not to fly too low over Maoist-hit areas of the state.
Pilots have been instructed to keep to 8,000-10,000 feet during normal days, or fly as low as 500-1,000 feet during inclement weather.
Though the decision was taken while reviewing the air-worthiness of the state’s chopper in the backdrop of YSR’s helicopter crash, officials attributed the decision to the Maoist menace.
Besides Bastar, the region of Sarguja adjoining Jharkhand is often a target of Maoist attacks. “There shall be a ban on flying too low in Maoist-hit areas,” confirmed a senior official with the aviation department. The state has also decided to set up a high-frequency satellite phone in the chopper that usually flies chief minister Raman Singh. The double-engine, seven seat Agusta that the state possesses has an FM transreceiver system, used when the craft loses contact with Air Traffic Control.
08/09/09 Sheena K & Suman K Srivastava/The Telegraph

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