Indian Navy Chetak crash- time to speed procurement
Neelam Mathews Oct 15, 2012 An Indian Navy Chetak helicopter crashed today at 10am while landing at Naval air station in Goa. The helio was in transit to make a rescheduling stop from Mumbai to Bangalore. All three onboard have died. Our condolences to their families. Goa’s Dabolim airport has been closed, we hear. While a Board of Inquiry to ascertain the cause has been formed, isn’t it time to start looking at what is happening with those machines? The Indian Navy has released an RFP for 56 Light Utility Helicopters. The bidders have been given a five-month time to submit their bids. Why is the time period been extended? Shouldn’t this be a priority? Or is it the time of the year once again to give HAL a chance to offer a design, for which it will take another few years to implement? Are we waiting for more disasters to happen?