New Delhi: "Wo aa rahein hain." The now-famous tagline of Narendra Modi's radio ads was on the lips of DGCA officials at Delhi Airport last Saturday when the BJP PM candidate was about to fly in here from Ahmedabad. The moment the Gujarat CM alighted from the Challenger 605 and drove off in his Scorpio, they swooped down on the plane for "ramp checks" and subjected the luxury jet and its crew to intense scrutiny.
The Adani Group's aircraft and its crew were found inadequately prepared for any emergency — indicating a potential threat to Modi as this jet (VT-ADG) has been his personal chariot this poll season.
"The co-pilot was unaware of the aircraft's emergency and safety procedure. The cabin crew on the flight were not trained on this aircraft while it is mandatory that the crew be completely aware of the emergency features of the planes they fly on. The safety demo kit was also not present in the aircraft," said an official who conducted the checks.
The co-pilot's flash light was not working and the position of the emergency locator transmitter — a vital equipment that transmits a plane's position in case of a mishap — was not marked on the Bombardier Challenger 605. The regulatory team also found that the flight had two passenger manifests (list of people on board) — one which had the cabin crew included in it and the other which did not.
"These were substantial deficiencies but not serious enough for the plane to be grounded like Mukesh Ambani's private plane was last week. The list of deficiencies will be sent to Karnavati Aviation (Adani's aircraft charter arm) and they will have to submit a compliance report," said a source.
A senior official of Karnavati Aviation said that their aircraft had been checked and it had passed the test as the same was not grounded.
02/04/14 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
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The Adani Group's aircraft and its crew were found inadequately prepared for any emergency — indicating a potential threat to Modi as this jet (VT-ADG) has been his personal chariot this poll season.
"The co-pilot was unaware of the aircraft's emergency and safety procedure. The cabin crew on the flight were not trained on this aircraft while it is mandatory that the crew be completely aware of the emergency features of the planes they fly on. The safety demo kit was also not present in the aircraft," said an official who conducted the checks.
The co-pilot's flash light was not working and the position of the emergency locator transmitter — a vital equipment that transmits a plane's position in case of a mishap — was not marked on the Bombardier Challenger 605. The regulatory team also found that the flight had two passenger manifests (list of people on board) — one which had the cabin crew included in it and the other which did not.
"These were substantial deficiencies but not serious enough for the plane to be grounded like Mukesh Ambani's private plane was last week. The list of deficiencies will be sent to Karnavati Aviation (Adani's aircraft charter arm) and they will have to submit a compliance report," said a source.
A senior official of Karnavati Aviation said that their aircraft had been checked and it had passed the test as the same was not grounded.
02/04/14 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
