Pawan Hans delegation to Moscow for MI-172 spares

As a team of Russian experts gets busy trying to figure out what technical malfunctioning could have caused the MI-172 — on ONGC duty — to crash offshore at Mumbai, top officials of Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. left tonight for Moscow to streamline the supply of spares for the three MI-172s it has in its fleet of 30.

While two of these choppers are on duty with the ONGC and Arunachal Pradesh respectively, the third one is grounded for want of spares. According to officials, the disintegration of USSR meant that most of the suppliers of various spares now operate from different countries.

‘‘This is a big problem for us. For every little requirement we have to issue fresh tenders, go through the bureaucracy in these countries and then negotiate a price. It takes a long time which hits us commercially,’’ says Pawan Hans Chairman and Managing Director N.V. Sridhar who is heading the team to Moscow.

If all goes well, Pawan Hans may end up signing a MoU with Kazaan Helicopter Plant, the original manufacturers of the MI-172. Though initially the company was reluctant to sign a deal on spares, they have agreed after nearly eight months of persuasion.