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DGCA orders special audit of Kedarnath helicopter operator after official’s death
The matter relates to the death of an official of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority, killed when he was hit by a chopper’s tail rotor blade.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has grounded the services and ordered a special audit of a helicopter operator in Kedarnath in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district, days after an official of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) was killed when he was hit by a chopper’s tail rotor blade.
According to DGCA officials, the audit of the helicopter operator, Kestrel Aviation, will be conducted next week.
“DGCA will conduct a special audit of Kestrel Aviation next week. The operator’s services have been grounded since the incident on April 23 ,” an official said, seeking anonymity.
Amit Saini (35), who was the finance controller of UCADA, was at Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) helipad for audit and inspection work when the incident took place at around 2pm on April 23.
Saini was boarding the chopper after inspecting the helipad when he was struck by the tail rotor blade.
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“The UCADA official was trying to board the chopper from one side. When he could not do so, he decided to enter from the other side and took the tail route in haste. While the people nearby tried to stop him, he could not hear them due to the helicopter’s noise. He was struck by the chopper tail rotor in the head, leading to his death,” deputy superintendent of police Guptkashi Vimal Rawat, who is also a nodal officer for the Kedarnath yatra, said at the time.
The incident prompted DGCA to order a second audit of all helicopter operators before giving them the final go-ahead to conduct operations to and from the Kedarnath shrine.
The aviation regulator also issued an operations circular, listing additional measures to be followed during the yatra.
“ DGCA has taken the matter seriously and in order to ensure safe operations this year, it is all set to conduct an exclusive audit of the grounded operator,” the DGCA official quoted above said.
“The remaining eight operators who were given the approval to conduct operations this year, too, have been asked to ensure that the highest level of safety protocol is practised,” the official added.
While a DGCA inspection team, asa standard operating procedure, visits all helipads to check the preparedness of operators before granting them approval for flying operations, officials said the regulator has, from this year, mandated additional precautions .
“DGCA conducts spot checks at regular intervals to ensure compliance of all safety directions, but in order to avoid any further safety lapses, the regulator has started monitoring all copter movements during the yatra closely,” the official said.
