Pawan Hans rejects allegations about airworthiness of fleet
23 Apr 2011
New Delhi: Under the spotlight, state-owned Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd (PHHL), has rubbished allegations made by the Arunachal Pradesh state government about the airworthiness of its fleet. A helicopter crash at Tawang claimed 17 lives a few days back, putting PHHL under the spotlight over maintenance issues.
Pawan Hans has said its choppers are properly maintained and had the necessary certification to fly.
"Our helicopters are properly and regularly maintained and serviced. All of them have valid airworthiness certification and our pilots are highly trained", a spokesman for PHHL said.
In the case of the Tawang crash, the pilots Capt Varun Gupta and Capt AK Tiwari, who were piloting the ill-fated Mi-172 chopper, PHHL said both were "highly experienced with over 5,000 hours of flying".
Tuesday's accident killed 17 of the 23 people onboard, but Capt Gupta and five others survived with serious burn injuries.
The PHHL spokesman's statement came after the state government shot off a letter to the ministry for civil aviation demanding an inquiry into the maintenance status of the PHHL helicopters and also asking if the guidelines of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) were being adhered to by the organisation.