A Pawan Hans helicopter crashed into the sea after taking off from Ranghat helipad in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands with seven persons on board for Mayabunder helipad on February 24 was not activated during the approach.
Mumbai:The emergency flotation system of the Pawan Hans helicopter that crashed into the sea with seven persons onboard near Mayabunder in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands on February 24 was not activated during the approach, according to an AAIB investigation report released on Saturday.
In its preliminary report on the accident, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) recommended that the aviation safety watchdog conduct spot checks on the operations of all commercial helicopter operators to check their compliance with this requirement. The body also recommended to the DGCA to sensitize its pilots to arm floats for all applicable operations.
A Pawan Hans helicopter crashed into the sea after taking off from Ranghat helipad in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands with seven persons on board for Mayabunder helipad on February 24 was not activated during the approach.
The Pawan Hans’s Airbus helicopter AS365N3 bearing registrartion number VT-PHY on approach to Mayabunder helipad, which was conducted by the co-pilot, after turning on to finals, “descended with high rate of descent” and crash landed into the sea, as per the preliminary report.
“On contact with water body, the helicopter floats did not activate. The helicopter toppled to its Starboard side and as the depth of the sea at the crash location was only 4-5 ft, the port side of the helicopter was above the waterline,” it said.
In the accident, one passenger died, two passengers including one infant suffered serious injuries and two passengers sustained minor injuries while both the crew escaped unhurt, the preliminary report stated.