The crash of a chartered Bell 212 helicopter on Sunday in the outskirts of Mumbai that killed five will likely force India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to scrutinize procedures related to preserving wreckage and the altitudes at which helicopters fly.
While ICAO guidelines specify that debris should not be removed from the accident site, the local police did just that. “Rules specify that the first person to take control of the accident site is a DGCA official. Only under his supervision can a postmortem be made. Besides, if debris is indiscriminately removed, what kind of investigation can be conducted?” independent aviation consultant Shakti Lumba told AIN. “The role of the police during aviation accidents is not clear and it should be incorporated as a chapter in police manuals. The DGCA sent a circular 10 years ago to the ministry of home affairs. Nobody knows where that went.”
Meanwhile, a regulation yet to be implemented by the DGCA relates to raising the altitude at which helicopters fly after taking off from Mumbai.
Read news in full 03/10/13 Neelam Mathews/AINonline
Sunday, 6 October 2013
Helicopter Crash Raises Issues for India’s Regulator
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