Even as the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the regulatory body governing the safety aspects of civil aviation initiated an inquiry into the crash of Haryana government's state aircraft - Beech Super King Air B-200- a recap of the incident done by state Civil Aviation officials reveal that the aircraft veered out of its course probably due to the jamming of the rudder.
Rudder is vertical control surface attached to the rear of the fin used to steer the aircraft in conjunction with ailerons.
Civil Aviation officials said that the state aircraft which took off for Delhi from Chandigarh airport with Governor Jagannath Pahadia, his wife Shanti Pahadia, and officials on Thursday about 11.30 am, steered uncontrollably on getting airborne and crashed on its left wings. The aircraft was flown by senior executive pilot Wing Commander (retd) Bhushan Nanda and junior pilot Capt Dinesh Bansal when the accident took place. There were 10 passengers on board including the Governor, Jagannath Pahadia, his wife, Shanti Pahadia, Secretary to Governor, Neelam P Kasni, two aides de camp (ADC) to Governor, a doctor, and two attendants.
Recounting the incident, senior executive pilot, Wing Commander (retd) Nanda told HT said: "We had just taken off and in 3-4 seconds the aircraft got out of control. There was some malfunction with one of the control systems. There was also problem with the rudder control. We two pilots could not control the aircraft the moment it got off the tarmac. What exactly happened can be known only after a technical evaluation is done."
{{/usCountry}}Recounting the incident, senior executive pilot, Wing Commander (retd) Nanda told HT said: "We had just taken off and in 3-4 seconds the aircraft got out of control. There was some malfunction with one of the control systems. There was also problem with the rudder control. We two pilots could not control the aircraft the moment it got off the tarmac. What exactly happened can be known only after a technical evaluation is done."
{{/usCountry}}The senior pilot said that the aircraft did not catch fire. "A part of the aircraft which fell a few feet away did catch fire along,'' he said.
The aircraft which was purchased by the Congress government in 2005 is primarily used by Haryana chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, for his travel. The Governor also frequently uses the aircraft for his tours. In 2011, the aircraft developed a snag in the left engine and underwent an engine overhaul at Pratt and Whitney engine facility in Australia