MPCC chief, two others escape YSR fate

Nagpur: Maharashtra Congress Committee President Manikrao Thakre, All India Congress Committee secretary and incharge for Maharashtra Mohan Prakash, and former MP from Yavatmal Haribhau Rathod had a providential escape when an engine of helicopter they were traveling in suffered failure and made an emergency landing at Nagpur airport on Friday afternoon.
They were flying from Nagpur to Darwha in Yavatmal district. There was panic at Nagpur airport when the news spread that Congress leaders' helicopter had made an emergency landing here.
Airport sources said the brand new (just 48 days old) twin-engined German-made Eurocopter EC 15 helicopter was being operated by Mumbai based Global Vectra Helicorp Company. It had taken off from Nagpur Airport at 12.25 pm and was on way to Darwha in Yavatmal district.
Some 20 minutes into the flight, when the helicopter was flying over Wardha city, 48 nautical miles away from Nagpur airport, pilot V Singh noticed that one of the engines had failed. He decided to return to Nagpur and contacted Nagpur ATC to seek permission for emergency landing, sources added.
The ATC officials alerted the airport staff. Emergency vehicles, including fire fighting personnel, ambulance and security staff, had lined up the runway for landing as a precautionary measure. The chopper safely made it to the airport on one engine but efforts by pilot, it could not make a normal landing. Instead, it banged on runway at about 12.57 pm. Though landing was hard, no one was hurt, they added.
26/09/09 Times of India

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