The civil aviation ministry will put in place an inquiry committee to probe the crash of the Pawan Hans copter that carried the Arunachal Pradesh chief minister and others, even as a report of the parliamentary standing committee on transport said pilots flying VIPs are often “put under pressure” to take off with minor defects and adverse weather conditions in their helicopters and recommended that the government penalise those asking them to do so.
“Pilots are put under pressure not to oppose these deficiencies due to commercial or other reasons. It happens mainly in case of chartered helicopters and those flying VIPs. Such violation of rules have led to fatal accidents and loss of several precious lives,” the standing committee on transport, tourism and culture said in its report on Wednesday.
It also expressed concern over the instances of forceful landings, take-offs of helicopters in low visibility, bad weather and even during nights, which are serious breaches of aviation security norms.
The committee recommended that “pilots be provided adequate legal protection to decline to fly in absence of mandatory technical or weather clearances. Some kind of penal provision may be considered against those putting such pressure on them without clearances.”
The committee also suggested action against pilots and said, “strictest actions should be taken against pilots/ technicians violating these requirements even under some kind of duress. Their licenses may be cancelled immediately if prima facie they appear to have done so.”
“The committee found that currently, helicopter operations are governed by the set of rules, regulations and mechanism under the directorate-general of civil aviation, which are meant for fixed wing aircraft,” it said.