M A I N   N E W S

Punjab Government chopper crashes at Chandigarh airport, 2 pilots injured 
Anil Jerath/TNS

Chandigarh, December 16
A day after the providential escape of 65 passengers of a Jet Airways aircraft, two pilots suffered minor injuries when a Dolphin helicopter (AS 365 N3) came crashing down immediately after take off from the Chandigarh airport around 10 am today. The chopper, belonging to Pawan Hans, was on lease to fly Punjab ministers. It was to fly Punjab Industry and Local Government Minister Manoranjan Kalia to Mukerian in Hoshiarpur today.

Capt SPS Brar (Retd) and his co-pilot Capt MS Brar (Retd) of the Indian Air Force, who were on board, suffered minor injuries in the incident and were got admitted to the Command Hospital, Chandimandir. Air Force officials took the pilots out of the helicopter after breaking open its windowpanes.

According to HS Toor, Airport Controller, Chandigarh airport, the chopper was taxiing out of the airport after refuelling when the pilot suddenly lost control on the chopper and it crashed near the departure lounge. The chopper was totally damaged, he added.

Tej Johar, a resident of Sector 8, who was a witness to the incident, said the helicopter had taken off and had gained a height of just about 10 feet when its tail rotor failed, resulting in a crash. Johar had come to the airport to see off one of his relatives at the airport.

It is yet to be ascertained whether the accident was due to a technical snag or pilot error. It took around 10 minutes for an ambulance and a fire brigade team to reach the spot after the accident. The pilots were lucky as the crash did not spark a fire.

Toor said the incident had been reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which would conduct an inquiry.

The incident affected flights to and from the Chandigarh airport. Passengers remained stranded for hours. However, Toor claimed that the flights at the airport functioned normally as the Air Force authorities had allowed civil airlines to use its tarmac for flights. “The passengers were disembarked at the Air Force tarmac from where they were taken out of the airport in buses,” Toor said.

Senior officers of the Punjab Police also visited the accident site, he added.