New Delhi, May 5 : The Pawan Hans helicopter VT-PHT that crashed killing the Arunachal chief minister Dorjee Khandu and four others on Saturday was inducted only last year. The two pilots together had a flying record of over 7000 hours and experienced north east hands.
On April 19, 2011 a Pawan hans MI 17 helicopter crashed seconds before touch down at the Tawang helipad killing 17 of the 23 people on board board perhaps one of the worst helicopter accidents in the country.
On September 22, 2004 Meghalaya saw another tragedy when 10 people died in a crash including Meghalaya's Chief Minister's father in law.
Many state governments are fed up. Meghalaya has suspended Pawan Hans operations and puts the blame on old helicopters.
Pawan Hans operates fleet of nine-seater Dauphin and 18-seater M-I 172 in Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. Some of these helicopters are over 20 years.
People continue to fly them as they are the fastest means of transport.
From Guwhati to Arunachal Pradesh's capital Itanagar it takes over than 10 hours by road. A helicopter ride takes just 45 minutes. You can fly from Shillong to Tura in 40 minutes. By road its an overnight journey.
In most helicopter crashes weather has been blamed. Wing commander Vijay Kumar Magoo, who has flown helicopters for over 38 years believes that pilots get little or no realtime weather information when they fly such remote locations.
For many in the North Eat, in case of emergencies you don't have much choice but to fly with Pawan Hans. With safety records getting worst the Meghalaya govt has already suspended its services. And with another crash, its perhaps high time the government overhaul Pawan Hans aging fleet