100 aircraft have no locators: Probe

New Delhi: Andhra Congress strongman Y S R Reddy's chopper crash report promises to open a can of worms by showing how mandatory norms have been violated for years without being detected. The chopper had crashed on September 2, 2009, and it took over 24 hours to locate the debris as its emergency locater transmitter (ELT) was not tuned to 406 mega hertz so that it could be picked by satellites.
Pawan Hans chief R K Tyagi, who headed the probe panel, stressed on this point in his report, following which the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) recently conducted a one-time check of ELTs of over 900 aircraft and choppers in India.
Highly placed sources said ELTs in almost 100 flying machines — 70 aircraft and 30-odd choppers — were not tuned to this frequency. Ironically, DGCA rules had mandated that every plane or chopper in India meet this condition by January 1, 2005.These planes and choppers are learnt to belong to the who's who of Indian politics, business and leading charter companies.
29/01/10 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: Safety Jan 2010