Summary:
Raipur, May 13 (PTI) The opposition BJP in Chhattisgarh has raised questions over the maintenance of the state government"s helicopter that crashed on Thursday, resulting in the death of two pilots onboard, and demanded a high-level probe.
On Thursday night, the state"s senior pilot Captain Gopal Krishna Panda and examiner of Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Captain A P Shrivastava, who were piloting the AgustaWestland chopper during night practice sortie, died in the crash at Swami Vivekanand Airport here.
"Captain Panda was an experienced and trained pilot.
He has been serving in the state since 11 years.
Then how did such an incident happen? There is need to thoroughly probe every technical aspect of the chopper.
Was there already any technical snag in the chopper that caused the crash,” said Leader of Opposition Dharamlal Kaushik on Friday.
A high level probe should be conducted to ascertain whether proper focus was being given to its maintenance, including servicing, he added.
On a query about safety standards of the chopper, Kaushik said, "The Agusta chopper is believed to be a better helicopter and it is also used during election campaigns.
It is credible not only in Chhattisgarh but also in the country." "If the Congress is raising questions over its safety citing it was purchased under our government (in 2007) then it is ridiculous.
The chopper was in service for 15 years.