Expert Committee on Pawan Hans Mi-172 crash

Neelam Mathews

May 3, 2011

Time posted: 6:35pm IST

Following the crash of a Pawan Hans Mi-172 helicopter in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh on April 19, an expert committee formed to investigate the crash, met today at the ministry of civil aviation.

The committee, which will complete its inquiry and submit a report in three months, is chaired by former Air Marshal P.P. Rajkumar. The members include Air Commodore Ravi  Krishan, a pilot and Wing Commander Rabinder Singh, an engineer- both now retired from the Border Security Force. M.J. Singh, deputy director of air safety at Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has been appointed as secretary to the committee. Dr Vipin Sharma, medical specialist from DGCA will be responsible for evaluating autoposy findings.
Meanwhile, there is no news as yet of the missing AS350 B-3 helicopter of the Arunachal Pradesh chief minister. Aerospace Diary had recently questioned the possibility of the electronic locator transmitter (ELT) not functioning. Now, an official says the ELT of many recent crashes did not function. “Could this be because the aerial was smashed or the ELTs installed have been defective?” he queries
The untraced helicopter of the chief minister has not yet declared an accident. It is believed it was flying over Sela Pass, a narrow pass in the mountainous region of Arunachal Pradesh, at  an elevation of 13700 ft above mean sea level, when it lost communication with the Indian army base at Itanagar. It is likely it crashed in the valley below. Another committee is expected to be formed once the helicopter is found, an official says.