For whom the Bell tolls

IT’s difficult to predict the designs of the Divine. None can intervene in the way the Fate plays its part as is evident in the happenings of Andhra Pradesh since Wednesday morning.

Death has taken into its bosom the mighty and the meek. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy cannot possibly be an exception to this universal law. The Chief Minister did not use the highly sophisticated chopper meant for him as it was sent for mandatory servicing. There are other mistakes and fate played a role in the tragedy.

The Chief Minister who uses the Agusta Westland (AW-139) chopper was bought by the state Government a year ago from Italy. The Rs 58-crore twin-engine helicopter is sturdy and sophisticated. But it was recently sent for a mandatory check up and servicing as it had completed a year’s operations.

This compelled the Chief Minster's office to go in for the US-made Bell-430 copter, which was found inadequate as it needed constant repairs and lacked night landing facility. Sources said the Bell copter was lying idle for over a year and was dusted from the hanger at the Begumpet airport on Wednesday.

This may explain why the Emergency Location Transmitter did not work when the chopper went down in the Nallamalla forest area in Andhra Pradesh.

The Bell-430 was bought from the US for Rs 26 crore and was transferred to the AP Aviation Corporation constituted recently to undertake commercial operations. Sources said the airworthiness of the copter was not certified for two years.

However, the Bell-430 was flown by a qualified Indian Air Force serving officer in the rank of Group Captain, S. K. Bhatia. Co-pilot M.S. Reddy is also a qualified and highly experienced flying persons.

Another costly lapse was that the Cm's security was not provided with a satellite phone.

This is not the first time that YSR's chopper has run into trouble. In May 2005, the copter carrying YSR to Adilabad district had strayed off course giving anxious moments to officials and his Cabinet colleagues. Reddy was to attend the Rythu Chaitanya Sadassu at Utnoor then. He had attended a meet at Karimnagar earlier that day and was supposed to land at the helipad at Utnoor's K.B. Complex later when the incident occurred. The pilot, however, picked up the coordinates from Adilabad instead of Utnoor.