After failing to recover the wreckage and trace the two-member flying crew of a crashed Pawan Hans chopper on Wednesday night, the search for the Dauphin chopper has been intensified.
Currently, four naval ships, three Coast Guard ships and eight ONGC support vessels are scanning the area — 80 nautical miles off Bombay High — where the Coast Guard first spotted a door panel belonging to the chopper that had crashed into Arabian Sea on Wednesday evening.
Speaking to mid-day, a few pilots who were present at the nearby platform on the day of the mishap claimed the Dauphin chopper caught fire before ditching into the sea. They also stated that the location of the crash site is a shark hotspot.
Debunking the claims made by the pilots, a member of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) team investigating the mishap said, “Based on the CCTV footage we scrutinised, it can be concluded that the chopper didn’t catch fire. It was a four-tonne chopper.
Whenever such a huge object ditches into the sea, its rotary blades produce sparks after coming in contact with the seawater. This happens due to the excessive friction. But this doesn’t mean that the helicopter caught fire.”
07/11/15 Neha LM Tripathi/Mid Day
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Currently, four naval ships, three Coast Guard ships and eight ONGC support vessels are scanning the area — 80 nautical miles off Bombay High — where the Coast Guard first spotted a door panel belonging to the chopper that had crashed into Arabian Sea on Wednesday evening.
Speaking to mid-day, a few pilots who were present at the nearby platform on the day of the mishap claimed the Dauphin chopper caught fire before ditching into the sea. They also stated that the location of the crash site is a shark hotspot.
Debunking the claims made by the pilots, a member of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) team investigating the mishap said, “Based on the CCTV footage we scrutinised, it can be concluded that the chopper didn’t catch fire. It was a four-tonne chopper.
Whenever such a huge object ditches into the sea, its rotary blades produce sparks after coming in contact with the seawater. This happens due to the excessive friction. But this doesn’t mean that the helicopter caught fire.”
07/11/15 Neha LM Tripathi/Mid Day
