Civil Aviation Ministry suspends Aryan Aviation operations after Kedarnath crash
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has suspended the operations of Aryan Aviation for the Char Dham Yatra with immediate effect following the helicopter crash near Kedarnath on Sunday that killed seven people. The incident prompted a high-level meeting led by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami with senior officials of the State government and departments and agencies concerned. As per the statement released by the Ministry, it also suspended two pilots which are captain Yogesh Grewal (CPL (H)-1453) of TransBharat Aviation’s VT-TBC and captain Jitender Harjai (CPL (H)-1046) of VT-TBF stating that these two helicopters were reportedly found to have been airborne under similar unsuitable weather conditions. According to the Ministry, all charter and shuttle helicopter operations in the region have been suspended till Monday as a safety precaution. UCADA has also been directed to hold a comprehensive review with all operators and pilots before allowing operations to resume. UCADA will also establish a Command and Control Room to track real time operations and enable an immediate response in case of a risk. The Ministry has also directed the DGCA to deploy its Airworthiness, Safety and Operations officers to oversee all activity in the Kedarnath valley and closely review the Command-and-Control Room’s functionality.
