Adherence to safety norms stressed
From Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi: The rush to use helicopters by political parties for campaigning in remote parts of the North East is causing concern that safety regulations are not violated. In turn, the strict enforcement of safety rules was making life difficult for operators who are serving the poll candidates.
The ensuing Lok Sabha polls and some of the assembly elections have proved to be periods of peak demand for helicopter operators of the country, the rotorcraft being mostly in the North East. Along with the Lok Sabha polls, assembly elections would also be held in Arunachal Pradesh, with its remote nooks and corners. During the poll campaigning, helicopters are expected to land at 500 different helipads in different parts of the country.
Concerned about the potential for unsafe operations with helicopters being used to fly candidates in and out of makeshift helipads while campaigning, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has for the first time met with stakeholders – including helicopter operators, pilots and manufacturers – to discuss adherence to safety guidelines during the elections.
“A DGCA analysis of earlier accidents and incidents associated with small aircraft and helicopter operations from improvised airstrips and helipads revealed that instructions were violated time and again and safety was jeopardized,” the agency’s director general, EK Bharat Bhushan, has said in an air safety circular
The DGCA has also made specific mention of areas in the northeast dominated by insurgent groups where helicopters could come under small arms fire. It is also apprehensive of unstable weather conditions of the region, because of which many helicopters have met with fatal accidents in the past.
