Flesh found in wreckage to be matched against DNA of missing pilot's daughter

Over two weeks into the search for the missing pilot of the Pawan Hans chopper that crashed into the Arabian Sea investigators found a clump of flesh and hair stuck from the recovered wreckage The tissue sample will now be put through forensic tests including one to see whether it matches with the pilotrsquos daughterrsquos DNA The rescue operation for him was also called off yesterdayThe flesh and hair were discovered near the copilotrsquos seat in the wreckage that was fished out of the sea on November 9 Investigators found the flesh near the copilotrsquos seat in the wreckage giving rise to speculation that it might belong to the missing Captain E Samuel Although he was the pilot Samuel was seated in the copilotrsquos chair while training Captain TK Guha in night landing Copilot Guharsquos body had been found earlier on November 9 in the cockpit of the wrecked chopperAlso read Pawan Hans disaster Safety lapses killed pilotIn the meanwhile other investigations have also revealed that the helicopter was flying at an alarmingly high speed which may have resulted in the crash as it turned for landing While the Coast Guard and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation ONGC both have radar systems the Coast Guardrsquos special transmitter picked up on the chopperrsquos last position before the crash and also the speed at which it crashedldquoWe have a transmitter called Automated Identification System AIS which studies various parameters like location height and speed of a helicopter In this case the helicopter was last seen 500 metres away from the unmanned platform on which it was to landrdquo explained a Coast Guard officialCrash analysisAccording to this data the Dauphin aircraft registered as VT PWF crashed at the speed of 120 knots approximately 220 kmph The AIS relay indicates that the chopper was at first flying at 70 knots which is the norm but then quickly progressed to 90 knots finally hitting 120 knots as it turned and ditched to land on the ECO ECO platform belonging to the ONGCAlso read Pawan Hans chopper crash Captain TK Guha laid to restThis is also confirmed by the CCTV footage viewed by the investigating team from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation DGCA ldquoThe aircraftrsquos beacon could be seen as it approached the unmanned platform But instead of landing the helicopter went around It was while negotiating a turn that the chopper just disappearedrdquo said a senior ONGC official adding that the team had arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday so it can continue the probe faster here instead of in New DelhiAviation expert Dr Vipul Saxena told midday ldquoThe state of the wreckage indicates that the helicopter fell into the water at high speed causing severe impact on the structure This also indicates that the pilots didnrsquot get time to carry out controlled ditching which could have saved their lives The helicopterrsquos speed as per the AIS is too high for a chopper that had just taken off this could have been a major cause for this accident to be fatalrdquoTo put this into context the chopper had taken off from the WSI platform around 715 pm and was to land at the unmanned ECO ECO platform which is barely five to seven minutes away by air However the aircraft disappeared around 720 pmThe wreckage was taken to the Yellow Gate police station on November 9 along with Captain Guharsquos body A day after his family performed the last rites Captain Samuelrsquos family was taken to see the wreckage after it was transferred to the Pawan Hans office Sources said the family members who had hoped to find Captain Samuel were shattered upon seeing the wrecked chopperAlso read Pawan Hans chopper crash Wife identifies copilots bodyWhen the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau AAIB began to inspect the wreckage officials found the flesh and hair near the copilotrsquos seat and immediately sent it to the Yellow Gate police stationCopspeakSpeaking to midday Senior Police Inspector Balkrishna Gurav of Yellow Gate police station said ldquoThe flesh and hair have been sent to Kalinarsquos forensic laboratory for DNA testing We first need to get a clear picture if the flesh belongs to a human or a marine animal A blood sample of Samuelrsquos daughter has been also taken for further investigations The reports are awaitedrdquo