AN ADDITIONAL 19 hours of certified flying time was left for the Robinson R44 Astro chopper before its next maintenance check, said representatives of Aman Aviation and Aerospace Solutions, the company which owned the helicopter that crashed on the hilly slopes of Aarey colony in Goregaon on Sunday.
The charter flight operator claims the helicopter was ‘certainly airworthy’.
Pilot Prafulla Mishra (57) and passenger Ritesh Modi lost their lives in the crash. The other two passengers were injured. Though a ‘clutch failure’ was identified as the primary reason behind the crash, Aman Aviation officials have claimed that the chopper was in perfect condition for use.
“The failure was certainly not caused due to any absence of maintenance check or renewal of any part. All records of the chopper have been checked, and it was found to have an additional 19 hours of flight left before the next check. This means it was in perfect condition for use for the Sunday ride,” said Rajendra Johri, Chairman and Managing Director (MD), Aman Aviation.
The officials have also claimed that the clutch was in proper working condition as it still had another 800 hours of flying before it needed to be checked.
“The initial flight in the chopper reported no fault with the clutch, engine or the overall experience. If a clutch defect would have been detected then, the pilot would have refrained from using the chopper again. As far as the maintenance of the chopper is concerned, there was no deficiency,” an official with Aman Aviation said.
14/12/16 Neha Kulkarni/The Indian Express
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The charter flight operator claims the helicopter was ‘certainly airworthy’.
Pilot Prafulla Mishra (57) and passenger Ritesh Modi lost their lives in the crash. The other two passengers were injured. Though a ‘clutch failure’ was identified as the primary reason behind the crash, Aman Aviation officials have claimed that the chopper was in perfect condition for use.
“The failure was certainly not caused due to any absence of maintenance check or renewal of any part. All records of the chopper have been checked, and it was found to have an additional 19 hours of flight left before the next check. This means it was in perfect condition for use for the Sunday ride,” said Rajendra Johri, Chairman and Managing Director (MD), Aman Aviation.
The officials have also claimed that the clutch was in proper working condition as it still had another 800 hours of flying before it needed to be checked.
“The initial flight in the chopper reported no fault with the clutch, engine or the overall experience. If a clutch defect would have been detected then, the pilot would have refrained from using the chopper again. As far as the maintenance of the chopper is concerned, there was no deficiency,” an official with Aman Aviation said.
14/12/16 Neha Kulkarni/The Indian Express
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