Helicopter operations in the country are set to become safer if a plan conceived by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) materialises.
The aviation regulator is considering developing a US-like Automatic Dependent Satellite Broadcasting System (ADSB) at the airports for a keeping a track on location of copters while they are flying in remote inaccessible areas.
This is in light of the recent copter accidents that killed Andhra Pradesh CM YSR Reddy and Arunachal Pradesh CM Dorjee Khandu on September 9 2009 and May 2011 respectively. The wreckage of the two crashes could not be located for days since the accidents took place in heavily forested areas despite several search missions by Indian Air Force planes.
This is part of a larger plan of making helicopter travel in the country safer after repeated and persistent demands from pilots. The regulator also recently made it compulsory for all helicopters to have an Early Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) from January 1, 2013.
DGCA chief E.K. Bharat Bhushan said that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has been tasked with developing the system and will have a mix of indigenous and foreign technology. “This is only at a conceptual stage and will take time for the system to come into place,” he said, refusing to comment further.
Interestingly, there already exists the Iridium satellite’s Sky Track system, the use of which was prohibited in India by the Union home and telecommunications ministries. Senior copter pilot Captain D.K. Chand said that Swaraj Air Charters tested the system on a Bell 412 helicopter in 2011 with favourable results.
“Trials were carried out on the east coast offshore with positive results at heights as low as 500 feet above sea at distances over 100 nautical miles. The reports were submitted to the DGCA. However, due to Iridium Satellite’s non-acceptance by the ministries of telecommunications and home, no further progress was made,” he said.
An assurance was then given that an indigenous network would be developed
PARTH SATAM
MUMBAI, June 12
Helicopter operations in the country are set to become safer if a plan conceived by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) materialises. The aviation regulator is considering developing a US-like Automatic Dependent Satellite Broadcasting System (ADSB) at the airports for a keeping a track on location of copters while they are flying in remote inaccessible areas.
This is in light of the recent copter accidents that killed Andhra Pradesh CM YSR Reddy and Arunachal Pradesh CM Dorjee Khandu on September 9 2009 and May 2011 respectively. The wreckage of the two crashes could not be located for days since the accidents took place in heavily forested areas despite several search missions by Indian Air Force planes.
This is part of a larger plan of making helicopter travel in the country safer after repeated and persistent demands from pilots. The regulator also recently made it compulsory for all helicopters to have an Early Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) from January 1, 2013.
DGCA chief E.K. Bharat Bhushan said that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has been tasked with developing the system and will have a mix of indigenous and foreign technology. “This is only at a conceptual stage and will take time for the system to come into place,” he said, refusing to comment further.
Interestingly, there already exists the Iridium satellite’s Sky Track system, the use of which was prohibited in India by the Union home and telecommunications ministries. Senior copter pilot Captain D.K. Chand said that Swaraj Air Charters tested the system on a Bell 412 helicopter in 2011 with favourable results.
“Trials were carried out on the east coast offshore with positive results at heights as low as 500 feet above sea at distances over 100 nautical miles. The reports were submitted to the DGCA. However, due to Iridium Satellite’s non-acceptance by the ministries of telecommunications and home, no further progress was made,” he said.