YSR’s chopper had not deviated from its path

Hyderabad: A map drawn by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) probe into the crash of the helicopter carrying Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S R Reddy reveals that the aircraft had not deviated 18 km from its stated path, as reports said earlier, sources told Mumbai Mirror.
The helicopter was on the right path, but was flying at 1,200 metres above mean sea level (MSL); such aircraft fly at a height of 1,200 to 7,000 metres. It first hit a tree before crashing into the 1,500-metre Rudrakonda hill in the dense Nallamala forest near Kurnool.
Revealing this crucial information, sources said, “The copter was well within the designated coordinates and altitude. But, there is the possibility of the copter being pulled down by air pockets formed in the Columbus Clouds.”
The sources said, “A helicopter pilot relies 50 per cent on the map and the rest on visibility. If the weather is bad, he can refuse to fly. It is to be verified whether the pilot’s decision to fly was wrong, and under what circumstances he took that decision.”
Incidentally, doubts have been raised about the validity of pilot S K Bhatia’s flying licence.
11/09/09 P Pavan/Mumbai Mirror

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