Troubled flights

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: It was not the first time that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had a troubled flight in an aircraft. While the latest incident occurred early this week when the new AW139 helicopter -- delivered to the AP government only on November 5 -- developed a major technical snag following the malfunction of an electrical fuse, another incident reportedly took place a few days ago on the Bell 430-model chopper. The AW139 incident saw the light a day later but the Bell 430 incident went unreported, authoritative sources overseeing the Chief Minister's security said on condition of anonymity. Purchased by the AP government in 1998, the Bell 430 was constantly plagued by one problem or the other. In the very recent past, a minor crack was detected on the windshield of the chopper when the Chief Minister was to fly on an official trip to Nizamabad district. The pilot, however, got a clearance certificate signed by the aircraft engineer and took the VVIP "on a ride." "Strictly speaking, the Chief Minister was taken for a ride in total violation of the security norms," the sources revealed. By the time the Bell 430 returned to Hyderabad, the crack on the windshield had widened, the sources added. "Subsequently, the windshield was replaced as part of the 'routine' maintenance. Fortunately nothing untoward had happened that day," a top security official pointed out. There were a couple of occasions when wrong co-ordinates were fed into the helicopter system because of which the aircraft carrying the VVIP had to hover in air in search of the helipad for safe landing. "It was a harrowing experience once when we flew to Adilabad district. We hovered in the air for more than half an hour before we could actually locate the village where we were supposed to land," a senior official in the Chief Minister's Office recalled. Such incidents, coupled with the latest providential escape, have raised serious questions about the air safety aspect related to a VVIP like the Chief Minister. "Security officials were never taken into confidence while purchasing the new helicopter or while pressing it into service. The AW139 barely flew for an hour and it has started giving trouble. This is a matter of serious concern," a high-ranking security official lamented. The state government authorities only hope that the AW139 doesn't go the Bell 430 way and gives the Chief Minister and other VIPs a smooth flight – every time.