Week later, mystery of YSR chopper crash unsolved

Hyderabad: A week after the helicopter crash that killed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy and four others, there is still no light on the circumstances that led to the accident.
It is still not clear if it was a human error or a technical failure that led to the crash of the Bell 430 on a hillock in the dense Nallamalla forests, 40 nautical miles from Kurnool, last week on Wednesday.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and state police's Crime Investigation Department (CID), which were the first to launch the probe, are still struggling to find answers to key questions.
The state government Monday announced two more parallel probes by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and a two-member expert committee.
Officials engaged in the four parallel inquiries are looking into all angles, including sabotage. There are many questions that need an answer -- was the weather warning issued, was the chopper properly checked before it took off, was it carrying an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) and whether there were any lapses on the part of pilots or Air Traffic Control staff in responding to the requests by the crew to help them. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) or black box recovered from the wreckage is yet to be decoded.
09/09/09 Indo-Asian News Service/Hindustan Times

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

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