Chopper Crash Course

Mathur’s hurried appointment is symptomatic of what’s wrong with the system of regulation of the chopper industry in India, an industry that has boomed in the last 10 years—both in the number of aircraft and the number of accidents.

In all, there are 120 registered helicopters today, there were 60 just 10 years ago. Together with an estimated 60 small-winged aircraft, they form the backbone of the ‘‘non-scheduled’’ aviation sector (meaning all the flying in the country besides regular passenger aircraft).

It’s this sector that accounts for most of the crashes, too: Since 1995, there have been 13 helicopter accidents compared to nine in small aircraft and two in the big carriers.

All this will change, claims DGCA chief General Satinder Singh. For, Mathur, as the new flight inspector, is expected to carry out regular inspections of choppers, conduct safety audits and suggest changes to improve safety. ‘‘The sector is well regulated, it’s only for better regulation that Mathur’s been appointed,’’ says Singh. Mathur has a tough job. The key reasons:

• United States, with 11,000 choppers, is one of the world’s busiest hubs for helicopter operations. Because of the unique features of a chopper flight—reduced speed, short path and low altitude—the US Federal Aviation Administration has marked fixed ‘‘heli-routes’’ over its entire airspace. In contrast, there is no such provision here: choppers follow routes designated for general aircraft.

This means that in off-course locations—the rule rather than the exception here—choppers have little or no knowledge of weather conditions due to lack of ATC support. The same applies to night flying.

• There’s not a single heliport in the country. The Greater Mumbai Master Plan’s proposal for a heliport in Cuffe Parade never took off. ‘‘We still operate on ill-equipped helipads that don’t have half the facilities like a dedicated fire service etc. At a time when the industry is set to take off, such disorganisation is a recipe for danger,’’ says a representative of a global helicopter manufacturer in India.

• As per international standards, to qualify as a chopper crew member, you need to pass the ‘‘helicopter underwater escape training test’’ (Huet Test), very relevant in incidents like Monday’s ONGC crash. In this, a candidate is trapped inside a chopper under water and has to come out of it within a specified time frame. Let alone making it mandatory, in India there is no provision for such a test.

• In fact, except for a basic helicopter-training course for pilots and engineers in Bangalore, there’s no other specialised programme for those joining this sector.

• All pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers—irrespective of the kind of aircraft—have to be endorsed by the DGCA. However, big operators like Pawan Hans—it has a fleet of 30—add another layer of screening by holding their own tests of candidates.

Smaller firms usually find this too cumbersome. ‘‘We go by the DGCA certificate, work experience and word of mouth which works in our industry,’’ says Ravindar Singh, general manager (north) for Deccan Aviation, the largest private operator in the chopper business.

• This acquires added significance given the recent cloud over DGCA’s screening tests. On February 22, 2001, question papers of the qualifying examinations for aircraft maintenance engineers were leaked in New Delhi, one of the 14 centres nationwide. This prompted the DGCA to cancel the exam and hold a re-test. No responsibility has been fixed so far.

• After the death of Madhavrao Scindia in a crash involving a small-winged aircraft, a committee chaired by Captain D V Singh, Indian Airlines director for flight safety, recommended that for operators of choppers and small-winged aircraft should designate an ‘‘accountable manager’’ whose brief would be to ‘‘make surveillance and safety audit checks more objective and meaningful.’’ More than a year after this recommendation, this hasn’t been enforced.

Now the DGCA says that Mathur will take care of all this.