Allegations of gross violation of safety guidelines against Pawan Hans

GANGTOK, 29 June: Allegations of gross violation of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) guidelines, safety measures and flight clearance for Schedule Operation Plan against Pawan Hans have come to light.
The incident was reported after the Manager Operation of Pawan Hans wrote a letter to the DGCA for action against the Pawan Hans officials based in Gangtok and Bagdogra.
As per the complaint, on 24 June, a Pawan Hans chopper took off from Bagdogra for Gangtok with two passengers without the mandatory clearance or certification of the Base Engineer. Bad weather conditions in Gangtok  forced the helicopter to undertake emergency landing.
The 17th Mountain Division had permitted Pawan Hans for emergency landing at the Libing helipad and the pilot and co-pilot were also given the option of landing at the Rangpo Cricket Ground. However, the pilots allegedly refused to do so even as the operations manager was stationed at the Libing helipad for the emergency landing, states a complaint letter addressed to the Managing Director of Sikkim Tourism Development Cooperation and DGCA. The pilot and co-pilot instead landed at the Sports Complex near Ban Jhankri falls.
The afternoon sortie of 407 Pawan Hans on 24 June grossly violated and overlooked safety measures risking the lives of the two passengers on board. The state government is unaware of the incident, since the Civil Aviation department has no mechanism to monitor flight safety, the complaint letter adds. The Sikkim government is paying Rs. 22 lakh as rent per month besides Rs. 387 per minute of flight.
It may be mentioned here that Governor BP Singh was scheduled to leave for New Delhi after addressing the Budget Session of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly on 25 June. He was to reach Bagdogra by helicopter, but due to bad weather conditions his flight was rescheduled for the next day.