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Arunachal Pradesh chief Minister Dorjee Khandu’s helicopter which took off from Tawang at 9.55am on Saturday April 30, 2011 is still untraceable after nearly 30 hours. The touch down at the Naharlagun helipad at Itanagar was expected to be at 11.30am involving a flight time of one hour and forty minutes.
Chief Minister Khandu was accompanied by his security officer deputy superintendent of police Yeshi Choddak; Tawang MLA Dhondup’s sister Yeshi Lamu; and, the two pilots, Captain B S Babbar and Captain K S Malick. The last communication from the pilot of the helicopter came 20 minutes after take-off believed to be from an area near Sela Pass which is along the China border. The Army posts near Sela Pass at an altitude of 14,000 ft, however, reported that they had not seen any helicopter pass their way.
The flight took off at 9.55 am and the Air Traffic Control at Guwahati’s LGBI airport received the last communication at 10.15. The first alert regarding the missing helicopter was sounded around noon on Saturday nearly an hour after the Expected Time of Arrival of the helicopter setting off search and rescue operations by the government and the Indian Air Force.
The search operations had to be called off soon due to inclement weather. At 2.00 pm, television channels quoting government sources, reported that the helicopter landed safely in Bhutan. But, the Bhutan government as well as the Indian mission in Bhutan denied this report.
The Indian Air Force postponed it air search following news of bad weather. A massive search operation was launched on Sunday morning jointly by the Army, Air Force, Shasastra Seema Bal and Indo-Tibetan Border Police involving about 2,400 troops. Bhutan is also carrying out ground search in eight districts.
Arunachal Pradesh has seen quite a few helicopter crashes in this century. On April 19, 2011 a Pawan Hans copter burst into flames and crashed killing 17 tourists. An Indian Air Force M-17 helicopter crashed at Bomdir near China after take-off on November 19, 2010 killing 12 defence personnel. On May 11, 2001 a chopper crashed in West Kameng killing seven persons including a state minister.
Other major helicopter crashes of the twenty-first century in India include: (i) A Dhruv helicopter which crashed in Sikkim on April 21, 2011 killing 4 army personnel; (ii) A Bell 430 helicopter that crashed at Nallamala on September 3, 2009 killing the then Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajashekhara Reddy and four others; (iii) A Pawan Hans helicopter which crashed on the way from Guwahati to Shillong on September 24, 2004 killing 16 passengers; and, (iv) the helicopter crash in Andhra Pradesh on March 2, 2002 in which the then Lok Sabha speaker GMC Balayogi died.
Indian president, Pratibha Patil, spoke to the governor of Arunachal and expressed concerns for all aboard the missing copter. UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi called up the chief minister’s home and spoke to his wife and son.
Tawang is an important distict of Arunachal Pradesh adjoining China and home to the most important Buddhist monastery in Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal Pradesh is one of the seven north-eastern states of India collectively referred to as the seven sisters. Owing to high peaks and gorges which experience sudden changes in weather conditions, Arunachal Pradesh poses a challenge even to the most experienced pilots.
The Indian home secretary, G K Pillai revealed that the government has sought the help of Department of Space and Indian Space Research Organistation in locating chopper. Two Indian satellites that passed over the area failed to pick up any signal from the chopper.
The September 3, 2009 helicopter crash in Andhra Pradesh which killed the then chief minister Y S Rajashekhara Reddy also resulted in suspense for several hours before the debris of the crash were located. His untimely death has turned Andhra Pradesh politics on its head.
A Pawan Hans operated AS350 Eurocopter B-3 helicopter was being used by chief minister Khandu for his trip from Tawang to Itanagar. It is powered by a single Ariel 2B turbine engine and is suited for executive transportation. It can accommodate one pilot plus 4-6 passengers depending upon what specifications the interior is done. Pawan Hans claims that the helicopter in question is only four months old. In case of engine failure, the chances of saving the helicopter are slim since it has only one engine.
Perhaps it is time to look for safer options to transport VVIPs. There are several state-of-art helicopters available with double or triple engines, multiple fuel tanks, multiple power and communications back-ups which can help reduce this kind of suspense and ensure more safety and security to VVIPs and others.
