DGCA launches probe into chopper crash

Aviation regulator DGCA on Wednesday launched preliminary investigations into the helicopter crash in Arunachal Pradesh that claimed 17 lives.

Aviation regulator DGCA on Wednesday launched preliminary investigations into the helicopter crash in Arunachal Pradesh that claimed 17 lives.

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A high-level team of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation led by its chief EK Bharat Bhushan visited the accident site at Tawang, official sources here said, adding that a two-member panel started probe into Tuesday's incident.

They said the DGCA was also proposing to set up a full fledged Court of Inquiry (CoI) into the accident, as was done in the case of the Mangalore air crash last May. A CoI, which is assisted by independent technical assessors, goes into all aspects of an accident.

The team of two DGCA officials -- Sanit Kumar, Deputy Director of the Regional Controller of Air Safety, and HN Mishra, a senior official with air safety division --conducted a site inspection on reaching Tawang this morning.

The Russian-origin MI-172 chopper, owned by Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd (PHHL), took off from Guwahati for Tawang but caught fire just before it was to land at the helipad located at an altitude of 11,000 feet, bordering China's Tibet region.

Pawan Hans operates daily helicopter services between Guwahati and Tawang and other remote locations in Arunachal Pradesh under an MoU signed between the public sector company and the state government.

The chopper that crashed was in service for the past 14 years after being inducted in 1997.

"A thorough probe would unravel the reason behind the crash. In the meantime the second Mi-172 chopper would not ply on the route as it has gone for servicing," the sources added.