Wheres the ATR on chopper probe? Rashtrapati Bhavan to Civil Aviation Ministry

Patils office sent a letter to the ministry highlighting certain key areas on which urgent and time-bound action needs to be taken. The letter demands regular coordination meetings amongst various agencies in consonance with the Blue Book coordination procedure,clear documentation of the concept and parameters of priority landing and its associated privileges and a mutually agreed Standard Operating Procedure for handling VVIP flights.

Patils chopper had a narrow escape for a second time last month when the rotor blades of an IAF helicopter in which she was travelling hit an abandoned shed while taxiing on the runway after landing at Bhubaneshwar airport.

The letter has said the flight and radio telephony procedure to be followed by VVIP helicopter formations should be well documented. It also sought to know the action taken on strict enforcement of existing regulations of aircraft/helicopter landings after obtaining permission from the Air Traffic Control and the need to equip the VVIP helicopters with upgraded safety devices like digital flight data recorder and other device installed in the civil version of these helicopters.

The probe team,headed by DG Nasim Zaidi,had made several recommendations which were accepted by the ministry. It had blamed the Indian Air Force for the incident and highlighted certain areas where Airports Authority of India needs to coordinate with the IAF on matter pertaining to VVIP flying.