Pawan Hans benched

GANGTOK, 03 May: Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited [PHHL], the only air service available to Sikkim, has suspended its helicopter service in Sikkim. This was done on 01 May “till further notice”.
The suspension of the helicopter service in the State was effected through a letter to the Chief Executive Officer, Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation [STDC], which operates the chopper service, from the PHHL Base Manager, Gangtok, on 01 May.
PHHL has suspended operations in six north-eastern states, including Sikkim, after a helicopter with Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Dorjee Khandu, and four others on board went missing on 30 April. The chopper remains untraced thus far and is the second [suspected] Pawan Hans crash in recent weeks. The earlier crash was also in Arunachal Pradesh when 17 people died in a crash on 19 April.

The letter to STDC from the PHHL Base Manager here states, “In the wake of our company helicopter still missing in Arunachal Pradesh with the Chief Minister on board. We regret to inform you that the operation of the helicopter positioned in Gangtok will be suspended on 01 May as per order from our Headquarter till further notice”.
The PHHL management has also expressed its regrets on the suspension of the helicopter services.
The suspension of chopper services, as mentioned, is not exclusive to Sikkim, with the Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited having put on hold its commercial operations in the North East for the time being so that these helicopters, supposedly, are available for search and rescue and the DGCA reviews the current situation.
Sources inform that such suspensions are also advised in light of the fact that two crashes within a fortnight would have rattled the pilots as well and could also hint at need for a more detailed appraisal of the PHHL’s fleet.