Within two months of the Cabinet approving the sale of the 19 choppers quite literally rotting at the Juhu aerodrome since the last several years, PHHL is about to settle a deal with the UK-based AES Services for a ``fairly reasonable price'' of 9 million pounds (about Rs 70 crore). The actual agreement is expected to be signed soon, sources said.

All 19 helicopters are out in the open, without any protective covering and company sources say it is doubtful whether they can ever be operational again. They have been reduced to nothing more than scrap and are obviously being sold for a pittance, sources say, adding that they have no idea why anyone would want to buy them.

The controversial Westland helicopter deal, signed in 1986 allegedly at the behest of the late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, is said to be one of the worstdeals ever made in Indian civil aviation history.

PHHL had bought 21 Westland helicopters from the British manufacturer which was about to close shop, and were deployed primarily for the company's offshore operations for the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd.

However, the helicopters were soon found to be ill-suited for offshore operations due to the high-humidity and moist conditions prevalent throughout the year. The helicopters suffered from frequent engine failure besides being fuel guzzlers.

After a Westland helicopter crashed at Trombay, the entire fleet was grounded, but part of the fleet was later re-deployed for tourism promotion and introduction of services to some areas where the domestic carrier Indian Airlines did not operate. But following another crash of a Westland helicopter at the Vaishno Devi shrine, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation decided to permanently ground the entire fleet.

Besides the tremendous resource drain the fleet had on PHHL, the Westland deal had involved aloan from the government which the company has been unable to repay. PHHL has already sought a waiver but no decision has been taken yet.

While the principal loan amount was Rs 130 crore, the steep interest payments on the same have mounted to a whopping Rs 265 crore, one of the basic hurdles in the government's disinvestment plans for the company.

Following the recommendations of the Disinvestment Commission, the government had offered full control of PHHL to ONGC. The latter had turned-down the offer, stating that operating a helicopter company did not synergise with its core competencies. While the ONGC owns 21.5 per cent equity stake in the company, the remaining stake lies with the Government.

General Manager (Western Region) Group Capt P S Sood (Retd), was non-committal. ``The final amount at which the helicopters will be sold is not yet fixed. However, talks in this regard are on with a company based in the UK... though nothing is finalised,'' he told Express Newsline.