New Safety Measures Proposed for Chardham Helicopter Operations

AAIB has advised the establishment of standard operating procedures for weather information dissemination to helicopter operators in Chardham. The agency also recommended a one-time audit of pilot qualifications for hill operations. The report follows a hard landing of a Pinnacle Air helicopter in Kedarnath due to weather information delays.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has urged aviation authorities to implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the dissemination of weather information to helicopter operators in the Chardham region.

This comes in light of a recent interim report on a helicopter's hard landing in Kedarnath on May 17, where a lack of weather updates was blamed on a power outage.

The AAIB also called for an audit of pilots' qualifications for hill operations, emphasizing that flying in hilly or mountainous terrains requires specialized skills. Furthermore, they demand contingency measures for critical systems to ensure unbroken weather information supply.

(With inputs from agencies.)