Time wasted by pilots, poor upkeep of chopper caused YSR crash: Report

New Delhi: A six-minute effort by the pilot and the co-pilot to fix a snag midair, and torrential rain, proved to be among the main factors that led to the crash of Andhra Pradesh government chopper last September. Then CM Y S R Reddy and four others were killed in the accident. The report of a probe panel set up to examine the crash also indicted the state government for poor maintenance of the Bell-430 — the chopper's transmitter was non-functional, which led to a delay in locating the debris after the crash.
''The probable cause of the accident is (it) occurred due to loss of control resulting in uncontrolled descent in the terrain at a versy high rate due to entry into severe down draught,'' the report says.
The first factor in the chain of events leading up to the crash seems to be the chopper flying in torrential rain and entering thick clouds. The Bell-430 is not supposed to enter clouds and if there are clouds on the path, it must return or land.
When choppers fly in humid conditions, pilots often get false indicators.
As per rule book, in such a situation, pilots have to refer to the flight manual and see why the indicator is coming. ''This process should take 15 to 20 seconds. In the ill-fated Bell-430 this process took six minutes, right before crash,'' sources said.
21/01/10 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Jan 2010, Safety Jan 2010