The two-member committee appointed by the state government to probe into the YSR helicopter crash has attributed the accident to inclement weather and systemic failures.
The committee comprising the former director general of civil aviation, Mr H.S. Khola, and Mr M.R. Reddy met the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, and submitted its report.
The committee took assistance of senior pilot, Mr Gurmeet Singh, to assess the impact of weather on the fateful day.
On the sabotage theory, the committee said concrete evidence available with it in the form of Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) did not contain anything that substantiated the sabotage theory. “The CBI will anyway go into the details,” Mr Reddy said.
According to him, there were no discussions between the pilots and any of the passengers, including YSR. The CVR contained only the discussion between the two pilots on how to handle the situation.
Sources said the committee members told the Chief Minister that lack of
preparedness of the pilots to tackle inclement weather probably led to the mishap.
While commercial pilots attend regular refresher courses, pilots of VVIP helicopters do not avail the facility, the committee observed.
The committee, which largely depended on the inputs of the Tyagi Committee appointed by the DGCA, said both the engines were in working condition and the copter came in contact with a tree when the pilots tried to lift it up.
Mr Reddy said the pilot was briefed about the weather and ATC gave permission to fly only after it was satisfied with weather condition.