Blind flying by pilots killed YSR

Pointing at pilot error, the inquiry committee probing the copter crash that killed Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy and others on board has concluded that the crew, after noticing a technical snag in bad weather, were “engrossed for vital six minutes before the (collision) impact in searching for the relevant checklist from the flight manual”.

This “distracted their attention from the prevailing poor visibility weather conditions thus leading to the loss of situational awareness”, the report said.

The committee concluded that the probable cause of the accident was that it “occurred due to loss of control resulting in uncontrolled descent on the terrain at a very high rate of descent due to entry into severe down draught”.

A down draught is a powerful current of air moving downwards during thunderstorms and bad weather.

The report also points out that “the crew flew in instrument flying condition though the flight plan was cleared for Visual Flight Rules (VFR)”.

Instrument flying condition is when pilots fly primarily with reference to instruments instead of being guided by the visibility outside.

The instrument flying condition is also referred to as blind flying and is regarded by helicopter aviation experts as one of the main reasons behind accidents.

The pilot of the ill-fated helicopter that crashed on September 2, 2009 was Gp. Capt. S.K. Bhatia, a senior serving IAF officer, while the co-pilot was M.S. Reddy.

The fact that the committee has concluded that the crew lost six crucial minutes before the collision in their search for a flight manual checklist in bad weather indicates that YSR and other passengers onboard could have been saved from the crash had there not been this error on the part of the pilots.

The combined result of the down draught — that aided rapid loss of altitude of the helicopter in bad weather — and the “loss in situation awareness” triggered by the crew’s search for a checklist led to the crash.

The Bell-430 helicopter of the AP Government crashed into the Rudrakoduru Hills near Kurnool while on a flight from Hyderabad on September 2, 2009.

The obvious pilot error, hinted at by the report, is shocking since Gp Capt Bhatia was regarded by the IAF as a seasoned pilot with an abundance of flying experience. Even top IAF officers had referred to Gp. Capt. Bhatia as a “very experienced pilot”.

KVP turns CM’s right-hand man

The Rajya Sabha member, Dr K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, the key aide of the late Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, has now metamorphosed into a “Man Friday” of the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah.

KVP was considered the friend, philosopher and guide of YSR and also orchestrated the “Jagan Mohan Reddy as CM” campaign after the former Chief Minister’s untimely death.

But once he realised that Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy’s chances of becoming Chief Minister in the near future were bleak, KVP changed tack and cosied up to Mr Rosaiah. He is now the most influential adviser of the Chief Minister.

Mr Rosaiah is a plainspeaking politician with vast administrative experience, but he lacks the ‘contact’ with the Delhi bosses, MPs, MLAs, and other big shots. This is where KVP comes in.

Now KVP deals with Delhi leaders for the CM The personal rapport he developed with them during YSR’s time is coming of use.

The line of luxury cars outside KVP’s house is also back. They had gone missing after Jagan had been ruled out as CM. People who were dealing with KVP to reach YSR find that this practice works just fine. Their works are on without a hitch.

It is political compulsion that has brought this surprising camaraderie into being. Mr Rosaiah needed a person he can confide in and the Rajya Sabha MP also did not want to lose his proximity to power.

Several Telangana leaders had cautioned Mr Rosaiah to stay away from KVP, but he ignored them. Similarly, the YSR group was resentful of KVP’s newfound friendship but he told them that they could not continue as dissidents forever when the high command preferred Mr Rosaiah.

“The Chief Minister has to play politics for which he needs a person, and who better than KVP,’’ said a source close to Mr Rosaiah.

Earlier, KVP, who heads the advisory panel on public safety and security, used to visit the Secretariat occasionally for review meetings. Now he makes it a point to meet the CM at his residence during late hours for long discussions on various issues. KVP is also meeting other friends and politicians in his Banjara Hills apartment.

Tapes seized from Sakshi

CID sleuths on Saturday evening seized hard disks and CDs from Sakshi TV owned by the Kadapa MP, Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, as part of their probe into the telecast of reports linking the Ambani brothers with the death of YSR.