Mumbai: Pawan Hans pilots' perseverance bears fruit as faulty engine is replaced

Thanks to the relentless persuasion exhibited by the Pawan Hans pilots Northern region since February the company finally replaced the entire engine of a Bell 407 helicopter mdash declared unfit by the engine manufacturer Rolls Royce mdash on April 26 While the sixseater chopper mainly ferries devotees in Kedarnath during offseason it is despatched to Mumbai for providing joyrides The helicopter now equipped with a new engine is currently in Delhi and is being readied for Kedarnath yatraA photo of the magnet plug after one of the ground tests with numerous particles attached to itTurning a blind eyeThe issue about wear and tear of the engine first came to light on February 21 after one of the pilots noticed the illuminated engine warning chip lightsAnother pilot made similar observations on February 28 following which the issue was brought to the notice of Pawan Hans authorities However pilots claimed their warnings fell on deaf ears and the authorities ordered for maintenance work to be executed in their absence As per the protocol illumination of the chip lights is an indicator of developing conditions that would eventually lead to engine failureWhile the first two complaints were allegedly swept under the carpet a 30minutelong ground test on April 9 clearly revealed that the engine needed an overhaul ldquoThe posttest checkup revealed a pastelike substance on the magnet plug with over four particles stuck on it As per the maintenance manual an existing engine should be thoroughly checked by the manufacturer if more than four particles are found on the plugrdquo said an expertTaking a standA similar test was conducted on April 22 and its results were the same But this time the pilots decided that enough was enough and approached Pawan Hans general manager Mumbai Sanjay Kumar ldquoOnly Kumar supported the pilots since the day he was informed about the issue Finally orders were issued to change the engine following a 30minute ground test on April 25 The engine was scrutinised by engineers from Rolls Royce at Mumbai and was replaced with a spare onerdquo said sources adding that it was the lackadaisical approach exhibited by M Sreekumar general manager Northern region that introduced unwanted delay in overhauling the engineClaming that it was the same chopper used for giving joyrides to Mumbaikars in January and February a senior pilot accused Sreekumar of pressurising other pilots to fly the unfit helicopter thus risking the safety of the passengers pilot and crewSpeaking to midday a senior Pawan Hans officer said ldquoIt is unfortunate that the company has never implemented any of the recommendations made by investigation teams from DGCA Neither has DGCA ordered an indepth inquiry into the large number of accidents involving Pawan Hans aircraftrdquoThe other sideM Sreekumar GM Northern Region said ldquoI am not the spokesperson for the company so canrsquot comment on the issue Moreover the incident took place in Mumbai Please contact the Mumbai authoritiesrdquoGone coldMonths after a Pawan Hans chopper flying to Bombay High crashed and its black box was sent for decoding the enquiry to ascertain the exact cause for the crash has gone cold Neither has the company that manufactured the black box reverted nor has the Air Accident Investigation Control Board have issued any updatesCharges deniedPawan Hans refuted the charges levied against them Heres a complete statement issued to middayChip Light defect on the engine of Bell 407 Helicopter VTPHI was reported on 21st Feb 2016 and an incident report was raised by the crew The matter as required was reported to regulatory authority ie DGCA and maintenance actions carried out as per maintenance manual of the helicopter and helicopter declared serviceable as there were no actual chips collected on the magnetic plug and therefore possibility of actual wear and tear in the engine could not be established The helicopter was flown till 28th Feb 2016 when again the Chip Light appeared on the engineThis time again the matter was reported to DGCA and appropriate actions taken as per maintenance manual of the helicopter DGCA also was apprised of all actions taken To further assess the serviceability of the engine the manufacturers of the engine were involved in maintenance actions and finally the engine was replaced on 26th April 2016 It is clarified here that appearance of Chip Light in itself does not call for replacement of the engine as per maintenance manual issued by manufacturers of the engine and the condition of the engine has to be examined verified by technical experts for such a decision The maintenance procedures of manufacturers allow continuation of operations of the engine if the size of chips number of chips collected is not beyond permissible limitsPHL reiterates that the reported defect on the engine mentioned in the article was handled as per procedures and the article has been published with incomplete information without verifying the facts to malign the image of PHL in public Safety of operations is of prime importance to PHL and the Company follows maintenance procedures issued by manufacturers alonwith regulatory procedures issued by DGCA to ensure safety of passengers at all times PHL follows zero tolerance policy on safety matters and all incidents occurrences are investigated as per regulations Compliance with recommendations of all accident incident is ensured and also monitored by regulatory authorities