GHANDIGARH: The crash of the B-200 Beechcraft in which the Punjab Governor, Surendra Nath and 12 others perished in July last, may have occurred due to negligence on the part of not only the Pilots but, also the Air Force authorities.

“Investigations show that the chief pilot, Captain R.D.S, Sandhu, had filed clearance to do “instrument flying” at a height of 9,000 feet before taking off from Chandigarh for Kullu. This was cleared both by the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at the Chandigarh Air Force station and the Radar Control at Bamala.

While in case of visual flight Clearance the pilot is responsible: for the path safety, in case the ‘instrument flight clearance is given, the responsibility is also shared by the ATC and the radar controller, sources said. The flying safety height for “instrument flying” to Kullu is 11,000 feet plus, the hillock against which the ill-fated plane crashed is about 10,180 feet high. This fact has reportedly been brought out in the preliminary inquiry carried out by the Punjab Government. Members of the Court of Inquiry, appointed by the Union Government to inquire into the crash also visited the IAF station, Chandigarh, recently to ascertain the possible negligence of the Air Force officials, it is learned.

It is also being checked if the two pilots, Sandhu and Pargat Singh, who also died in the crash, actually visited the ATC for the clearance, as is mandatory, or whether they just sent the clearance from through a messenger, as was the usual practices. Meanwhile, inquiries also indicate the lackadaisical manner in which the Punjab Civil Aviation Department was functioning for many months before the crash. An official spokesman of the dependent, when contacted, however, said that though some differences between the pilots had been brought to their notice, the department functioned smoothly.

Yet, documents reveal that on several occasions VIP safety was being compromised. On at I cast two occasions, the former advisor, Civil Aviation, Captain Kamindra Singh, had cautioned Sandhu from undertaking solo flights to ceria in places” in the interest of air safety of VIP.,”

Article extracted from this publication >>  September 23, 1994