Domestic chopper operators had accident-free 2014: Govt to LS

Domestic helicopter operators kept an unblemished record in 2014 with no accidents reported by any of them during the period, the government said today.
In a written reply in Lok Sabha, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mahesh Sharma, said that DGCA has from time to time issued circulars prescribing guidelines for safety of operations of small aircraft/helicopters.
No helicopter accident occurred during 2014, the minister told Lok Sabha.
To a question as to whether the helicopter industry was developing rapidly in India, Sharma said that as per the records with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) using as a yardstick the number of helicopters registered in the country, the industry was showing slow growth.

As against a total of 35 helicopters registered in 2010, the number came down to 20 in 2011 and 16 in 2012. In 2013 and 2014, a total of 23 helicopters were registered, with 12 of them being last year, the data said.
On the issue of safety compliance by the operators, the minister said that DGCA has issued several circulars with guidelines for safe operations of small aircraft/helicopters during elections under the Air Safety Circular 2 of 2014.
Similarly, Air Safety circular 07/2013 contains guidelines for seasonal helicopter operations at various places like Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, Amarnath, Kedarnath, Badrinath and Manimahesh, among others, he said.

Air Safety circular 09/2013 prescribes guidelines for operators regarding non-punitive action by DGCA against pilots who decide to abort the mission and carry out safe forces landing due to deteriorating weather, the Minister added.