VVIP protocols to be reviewed after Mi-17V5 chopper crash: IAF chief
VVIP protocols to be reviewed after Mi-17V5 chopper crash: IAF chief
CDS Bipin Rawat was among 14 casualties in the Dec. 8 crash
New Delhi, Dec. 18 (Delhi Crown): The VVIP protocols to fly in defence aircraft and choppers will be reviewed and revised soon, said Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Vivek Ram Chaudhari on Saturday.
The statement assumes significance as it came after the Dec. 8 IAF chopper crash in Tamil Nadu which killed all the 14 persons onboard, including CDS Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat.
A tri-services enquiry has been instituted in the crash. The enquiry is headed by IAF officer and the country’s best known chopper pilot Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, and comprises of one each Brigadier-rank officer from the Indian Army and the Indian Navy.
“All the VVIP protocols and procedures will be reviewed based on the findings of the enquiry. We are continuously evaluating threats from Pakistan and China and very well aware of it,” the IAF chief said while delivering his address at the Combined Graduation Parade at the IAF Academy at Dundigal.
He added that he won’t pre-empt any findings of the enquiry as it is a thorough and a very fair process.
Meanwhile, Minister of State (Defence) Ajay Bhatt told Lok Sabha on Friday that as many as four accidents of Mi-17V5 helicopters of the IAF had taken place in last 5 years, including the one which took place on Dec 8.
“In these 4 accidents, total 21 people lost their lives,” Bhatt said in the parliament.
