Pawan Hans disaster: 'Safety lapses killed pilot'

Ten days have passed since a Pawan Hans chopper went down in the Arabian Sea while one pilotrsquos body has been recovered another remains untraceable It appears that this tragedy could have been averted had safety norms been followed It took 120 hours to find copilot TK Guharsquos body while pilot Captain E Samuel is still missing after the 14seater Dauphin aircraft crashed on November 4Also read Pawan Hans chopper crash Captain TK Guha laid to restGuharsquos body was cremated on Wednesday Trishna and her husband Sarthak performed the last rites PicNimesh DaveIndicating a technical snag officials close to the development stated that the chopper had four floaters that should have inflated upon impact with the seawater but failed to deploy leading to the chopper sinkingCopilot TK Guharsquos body was found several days after the crash but the pilot Captain E Samuel below is still missingA DGCA official explained ldquoThe floaters are automated to deploy as soon as they come in contact with saline water but in this case it didnrsquot happen leading to the crash and loss of life This is a technical fault and has to be investigatedrdquoAlso read Pawan Hans chopper crash Wife identifies copilots bodyCaptain E SamuelApart from this neither of them had been issued a Personal Beacon Locater PLB that is mandatory according to regulations under the Directorate General of Civil Aviation DGCA This would have helped the pilots to send out distress signals and could have helped the rescuers find them early on It has now emerged that in gross violation of norms Pawan Hans has not issued beacons to any of its pilotsDebris from the crashed Pawan Hans chopper was recovered near the ONGC installation at Bombay High last week PicPTIldquoAccording to the DGCA guidelines every person onboard must possess a distress radio beacon also known as Personal Locater Beacon which are crucial during any emergency These send out distress signals and help locate victims of a crash but none of the pilots flying for Pawan Hans have these beaconsrdquo said one of the pilotsAlso readPawan Hans crash Pilots say chopper caught fire DGCA junks their theorySpeaking to midday Guharsquos family alleged the management was entirely unprepared for emergencies ldquoThe main wreckage was found 500 metres away from the landing site but the search operation had spread as far as 16 nautical miles away This shows a lack of preparation Pawan Hans must collaborate with other responsible bodies to come up with contingency plans to deal with such unexpected situationsrdquo said Guharsquos soninlaw Sarthak Kaushal adding that with a beacon the search party would have immediately known where to lookPawan Hans is a governmentowned helicopter service that often ferries ONGC Oil and Natural Gas Corporation employees to offshore rigs While these passengers are issued with beacons and life jackets by ONGC the pilots only get a life jacket And according to them even the life jackets are not up to scratchldquoThe ONGC employees have a life jacket with attached air pockets and PLBs but the operating crew are given life jackets and air pockets that need to be blown manually This is not practical in an emergencyrdquo said another pilotConcerned about the safety hazards the Pawan Hans Pilotrsquos Guild PHPG approached the management after the crash requesting that PLBs be issued to everyone ldquoWe have taken up this issue several times with the management Each time assurances are given but nothing changes Had they issued PLBs earlier this incident might not have turned into such a disasterrdquo said a guild member who did not wish to be namedStressedAnother member also highlighted the high stress conditions for Pawan Hans pilots with many foregoing their mandatory rest hours as well Pawan Hans compensates its pilots with a twopart salary which comprises fixed wages as well as an hourly wage Because of this many pilots are tempted to work longer hours sacrificing their rest period in an effort to earn some extra money This is particularly so because they earn far less than private pilots The DGCA had even asked that the hourly wages be cancelled so that pilots have no incentive to skip rest but Pawan Hans continues to use this schemeAlso read Pawan Hans chopper crash Coast Guard locates debris off Bombay HighPawan Hans has approximately 40 pilots in the western region of which 20 pilots are on duty at a time However attrition rates are high According to top sources 14 pilots quit the company in the past year Deceased copilot Guharsquos daughter Trishna told this paper ldquoThis is the second fatal incident in three months at Pawan Hans There is something definitely wrong with the management The companyrsquos attitude towards its pilots must change How many pilots is the management ready to lose before it realises that there is something gravely wrongrdquo