The mishap involving a Mi-8 helicopter with the President of India on board should be a matter of serious concern for the IAF and acute embarrassment for its leadership

The accident involving a Mi-8 helicopter with the President of India and Supreme Commander on board is shocking, to say the least. As it was a VVIP related flight, the helicopter would have been from Air Headquarters Communication Squadron located at Delhi. This squadron has the best of aircraft, and the personnel manning it are filtered from segments of human resource in the Indian Air Force (IAF), rated as professionally exceptional. As this squadron is responsible for carrying the President and the Prime Minister of India, as also other dignitaries both from home and abroad, it is required to maintain impeccable standards of operational competence.

Inexplicably, the helicopter’s main rotor impacted an abandoned building while it was taxiing to the parking bay after landing at Bhubaneswar with the President on board. Surprisingly, this was the second episode this year involving a helicopter carrying the Presidential entourage. In February, one of the three Mi-8 helicopters involved in this mission, came close to a disaster when it landed on the active runway at Mumbai international airport while an Air India Airbus 320 with 148 passengers was rolling for take off. Inquiry into the incident did not absolve the helicopter crew of blame. Should the pilot involved in both the incidents be the same, it may be necessary to subject his professional credentials to review.

What makes the accident at Bhubaneswar intriguing is the fact that, in accordance with the regulations in force, just two days before the incident, a comprehensive ‘dry run’ had been carried out to leave no room for uncertainty. Besides, the task per se was not difficult, challenging or complicated. However, a mission involving the first citizen of India, even if elementary in nature, is not treated as routine and requires meticulous planning, strict adherence to rules and fastidious execution. Nothing is left to chance and there is no scope for error, complacency or negligence. There is no reason to doubt that all laid down procedures would have been followed in the planning, preparation and conduct of the mission. It is, therefore, inconceivable that the existence of the abandoned building in the proximity of the taxi track would have gone unnoticed. It would be reasonable to assume that the taxi route would have been planned with adequate safety margins. For some unknown reason, the pilot is believed to have declined guidance by a ‘Follow Me’ vehicle provided by the airport management to guide the aircraft to the parking slot while operating on a tarmac devoid of markings in an unfamiliar airfield.

That such an accident should take place despite the plethora of rules and all possible precautions should be a matter of serious concern for the IAF and acute embarrassment for its leadership. The IAF has often been under fire by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for inordinately high accident rate. It will indeed be difficult for the air force to explain what would now appear to be frequent and disconcerting lack of professionalism. With information available in the public domain, citizens of India would be left wondering whether the national leadership is safe in the hands of the IAF.