Pilots skipped mandatory test

Bangalore: ISRO's attempts to locate Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's chopper that went missing yesterday could prove futile since its Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) was not tested before take-off, as required by the DGCA.
A check by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed that the pilots had not conducted the mandatory signal test of the ELT a device that sets off satellite signals from a chopper and based on which searches are done. As a result, it failed to emit any signals.
According to DGCA officials in Hyderabad, such a test transmission would have been promptly recorded by the Hyderabad Air Traffic Control and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). But the fact that it was not raises several questions.
Air vice-marshal (retired) K Sridharan, a helicopter expert and president of the Rotary Wing Society of India who is keenly following the case of the Andhra Pradesh chief minister's missing chopper, said, "Had this test been conducted, we would have known the chopper's location."
Sridharan added that it was common knowledge that regular maintenance of such important equipment and a prior test before flying were generally given a miss.
He said ISRO had deployed an aircraft fitted with a high-resolution camera and the recently-launched
The Emergency Locator Transmitter is a generic term for an equipment which broadcasts distinctive signals on designated frequencies and, depending on application, may be automatically activated by impact or be manually activated. There are different types of ELT:
Automatic fixed ELT [ELT (AF)]:
It is automatically activated and permanently attached to an aircraft. (YSR's chopper)
Automatic portable ELT [ELT(AP)]:
This is automatically activated and rigidly attached to an aircraft but can be removed.
Automatic deployable ELT [ELT(AD)]:
It is rigidly attached to an aircraft, is automatically deployed and activated by impact and, in some cases, also by hydrostatic sensors. Manual deployment is also provided.
03/09/09 Aditya Anand/MiD DAY

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