YSR chopper may have crashed due to altitude loss

Hyderabad: Preliminary evidence collected by DGCA's probe team is believed to have suggested that "drop in altitude" from 5,500 ft to about 1,200 ft could be the main reason for the crash of the helicopter that killed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in the dense Nallamala forest on September 2.

The team led by R K Tyagi, Additional Director General of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has also reportedly found that that contrary to reports the helicopter was very much on its original flight path and had not deviated before crashing on a hillock in the Nallamala forest, official sources said.

A day after the helicopter crashed in which four others were killed, state Chief Secretary P Ramakanth Reddy had said that the chopper deviated 18 km from its original flight path towards the east and hit the cliff of a hillock at Pavuralagutta before crashing.

However, during the course of investigations by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation team it came to light that the helicopter was on its course but was flying at a much lesser altitude than prescribed, the sources said.

Officials of the AP Aviation Corporation Limited reportedly told the DGCA investigation team, led by R K Tyagi, on Friday that based on the coordinates of the helicopter's flight they made out that there was no deviation from the original path.

In fact, a mapping of the crash site by the DGCA team on Thursady too revealed that the ill-fated Bell-430 had not strayed as initially suspected, the sources said.

The chopper carrying the Chief Minister was permitted to fly at an altitude of 5,500 ft but by the time it reached Atmakuru area it dropped to a height of only 1,200 ft, the same height at which the Pavuralagutta hillock was located.

This might have led the crash, the APACL authorities reportedly told the DGCA investigation team.

The DGCA team had a detailed interaction with APACL authorities on different aspects related to the VVIP flight.

The team studied the detailed flight schedule, the weather reports, flight engineer s report and pilots fitness reports, official sources said.

The DGCA team was informed that the VVIP's exact programme was revealed only at around 6.30 am on September 2 as it was supposed to be a surprise visit.

The pilot-in-command Group Captain S K Bhatia was told only about the flight to Chittoor district and nothing more, the sources said.