Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis' chopper crash lands, no casualties

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had a close shave when a VVIP helicopter carrying him developed a technical snag immediately after take off - its rotor snapped electric cables and crash-landed at Nilanga in Latur district, nearly 530 kms way from Mumbai.

The helicopter, a US-made Sikorsky with call sign VT-CMM - that is with the state government for the last five years - crashed at the Shivaji Vidyalaya ground where the helipad was made. The rotary-wing aircraft took over for its way back to Mumbai after the engagements of the CM in the Latur district of Marathwada region.

“All of us are safe....there was a problem and an accident involving our helicopter...with the blessings of people of Maharashtra and India, I'm safe and my team is fine too,” Fadnavis said immediately after the incident and spoke to TV channels, posted details on social media. “I was also medically examined, my blood-pressure is normal....there is nothing to worry about,” said Fadnavis, who was calm and composed after the accident.

The helicopter was commandered by Capt Sanjay ​K​arve, the chief pilot of the Maharashtra government and besides the co-pilot and navigator, Fadnavis, three others were on board - Praveensinh Pardeshi, the Principal Secretary to the CM, Abhimanyu Pawar, his Personal Assistant and Ketan Pathak, the Public Relations Officer. Only Pathak sustained minor injuries.

The chopper with six of them took over at 1155 hrs but immediately there was something amiss. Video footage showed that there was some problems during the take off and appeared unstable as it attained a height of nearly 80 feet. The aircraft then moved away and its rotor snapped the electric wires, following which there was a spark and the aircraft camw down with a thud.

“We felt the power coming down after we took off...the roters snapped with the high tension cables,” said Capt Barve, a former Indian Navy pilot, who had clocked several hours of flying in the armed forces and with the Maharashtra government. Immediately after the incident, Maharashtra Governor CH Vidyasagar Rao, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray spoke to Fadnavis and asked about his well-being.

Second incident

This is the second incident involving the same chopper this month. On 13 May 2017, the helicopter of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, while on a visit to the Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district, developed a technical snag after it landed, forcing him to return to Nagpur by road.

Substantial damage to helicopter: DGCA

The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that the helicopter has suffered substantial damage. In a statement about the incident it said  “Maharashtra Government's Sikorsky helicopter VT-CMM took off from Nilanda SE of Latur at 1200 hrs. There were 06 persons on board, including 2 crew members. Hon’ble CM of Maharashtra was also on board. After take-off, pilot found variable wind pattern. Pilot decided to land back. During landing, the helicopter got entangled in wires. The helicopter has sustained substantial damage. All six persons are safe and escaped unhurt. Spoke to commander of the flight as well as Hon’ble CM. Both informed well-being of all occupants.”

CM for farmers initiatives

Fadnavis was in Latur for the Shivar Sawad initiative, which aims at reaching out to farmers across 43,000 villages. The BJP’s farmer outreach is a bid to counter Opposition as well ally the Shiv Sena’s consistent attacks that the state government’s handling of the agrarian crisis is shoddy. “Villagers in Halgara(Latur) are successfully working for water conservation since 50days by 'Shramdan'. I contributed too! ,” he tweeted.

He was calm, composed: wife

Amruta Fadnavis, the wife of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, said that he was calm and composed after the accident. “He was okay...he said that it was because of God and the blessings of people,” she said, adding that immediately after the accident he called her over phone and informed of the incident and that he and his team was safe. “He was calm and composed...he spoke to me and mother also,” he said.

There was something amiss after take off: CM's assistant

It was not a normal take off, said Abhimanyu Pawar, the Personal Assistant of the CM. “We have travelled in this chopper several times...but the take off was something different, something amiss...we knew that there were some issues,” he said. “Once it touched a height there was some kind of shake-up,” he said, adding that when the chopper came down they all came over each other.