Probe panel blames YSR chopper crash on pilots’ error

The report of the four-member inquiry committee said the “probable” cause of the accident was that it “occurred due to loss of control resulting in uncontrolled descent in the terrain at a very high rate due to entry into severe down draught”.

The crew flew the helicopter under the instrument flying condition even though their flight plan was cleared for Visual Flight Rules (VFR),it said. This means since visibility was low,the aircraft was dependent on the pilots for navigating it.

The crew noticed a snag and “was engrossed for vital six minutes before the impact in searching for the relevant checklist from the Flight Manual”. “This distracted their attention from the prevailing poor visibility weather conditions thus leading into the loss of situational awareness,” the report,prepared by the committee headed by Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd CMD S K Tyagi,said.

Reddy,his special secretary P Subramaniam,Chief Security Officer A S C Weseley and pilots Grp Capt S K Bhatia and Capt M S Reddy were killed when the Bell 430 helicopter crashed in the jungles of Nalamalla hills on September 2,2009. The report and safety recommendations,including functioning of Andhra Pradesh Aviation Corporation Ltd that owned the helicopter,and regulatory issues were being considered by the government,an official spokesperson said.