Narrow escape for President, family
President Pratibha Patil and her husband Devi Singh Shekhawat had a narrow escape when an IAF helicopter carrying them and five others, including Orissa Governor M C Bhandare, met with an accident at the Bhubaneswar Airport on Wednesday afternoon.
The incident occurred when the President and her family members were returning here after a visit to the Sun Temple in Konark and the Jagannath temple in Puri. No one was injured.
Sources said as the nine-seater copter was landing at the Bhubaneswar’s Biju Patnaik airport around 4.45 pm, its blades hit the roof of a storeroom. Three blades were damaged and the chopper lost balance but the pilot managed to control it and took it to safety.
A visibly shaken President and her family were subsequently driven to Raj Bhavan.
The Orissa government has ordered an inquiry into the incident. So are the Airport Authority of India and the IAF.
Poor visibility and negligence on the part of the pilot could be the reason behind the mishap, government sources said.
