A technical snag was detected in a helicopter hours before it was scheduled to transport Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde for campaigning for the Zilla Parishad polls in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, an airport official said on Tuesday. The snag was found late on Monday night hours before the BJP leader was to fly to Latur, he said.
According to officials, Munde arrived in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on a chartered plane on Monday and took the helicopter for poll campaigning later in the day.
However, when the aviation company conducted a routine inspection later that night, they found some technical issues with the chopper and informed the authorities at the Chikalthana airport, they said.
The chopper was scheduled to transport the BJP leader to Latur around 11 am on Tuesday, but her journey was delayed by two hours, the official said. Talking to reporters, Munde said that the helicopter was old, but she didn’t raise the issue and continued her travel. She said ever since NCP leader Ajit Pawar’s tragic death in the January 28 crash in Baramati, flying has caused anxiety among party leaders.
Munde has been campaigning extensively for the February 7 Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls, and has held rallies in Marathwada.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was killed along with four others after a chartered aircraft crashed at Baramati in Pune district last week.
Late on Tuesday night, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a note on precautionary grounding of the Agusta 109 helicopter that was to ferry Munde, and mentioned about the issue faced by the chopper.
The helicopter operated four sectors, and after the last landing at the Aurangabad airport at approximately 1700 hrs (on Feb 2), the AME (Aircraft Maintenance Engineer), during post-flight checks, noticed “excessive play in the pitch operating link rod of one main rotor blade”, said the regulator.
Consequently, the AME flagged the issue and did not release the helicopter for further flights pending rectification. As per the operator, the charter-indenting agency was informed at around 2000 hrs, and the next day’s sorties were also cancelled at approximately 2100 hrs, said the DGCA.
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