Helicopter accidents in October point to broader concerns

Source: The post is based on an article “Helicopter accidents in October point to broader concerns” published in The Hindu on 7^th November 2022.

Syllabus: GS 3- Infrastructure

Relevance: helicopter accidents In India

News: There has been increase in the helicopter accidents in India. According to a report, between 1990 and 2019, more than 150 people lost their lives in accidents of commercial helicopters.

What are the reasons behind helicopter accidents?

There are many reasons behind the accidents such as pilot error, bad weather, and hitting of the cables.

These cables are used by locals in mountains to transport goods. They are not marked by warning signs and are not visible especially in the poor weather conditions.

However, the number of accidents of helicopter and flights have decreased in the last decade compared to the earlier periods. Moreover, there also concerns with the Indian aviation standards.

What are the concerns with the Indian aviation standards?

According to an audit conducted on eight parameters, India scored above the world-average in six of the eight parameters but lagged behind in two – personnel licensing and training, and civil aviation organization.

These two parameters require procedures to ensure that personnel and organizations meet the established requirements before they are licensed to fly.

Therefore, a poor score in the licensing regime and organizational processes along with pilot errors raise deeper concerns about Indian aviation.