00:00Northeastern state has witnessed several aircraft, crash and public sector helicopter along with Air Force.
00:08There is elaborate in this matter. We have joined former Indian Air Force Group Captain Mohant Pankinpaw.
00:16Pankin sir, welcome to the ETV viral. What is your take about yesterday's Sukhoi Su-30 crash?
00:24It is very sad news that one more Su-30 crash.
00:30What news we heard yesterday, and we lost two of our brave air warriors, one pilot and a WSO.
00:38So it is a very sad event. So as I can recall, this is the third Sukhoi, which is crashed
00:44in the Northeast.
00:46And this has happened, as per news reports, it has happened in the night, somewhere in Karbyanglong.
00:53And the plane got airborne from Zoharath.
00:56So what happened is after the FDR has been pulled out and the other records have been pulled out,
01:01the Primeir received inquiry will reveal as to what had happened.
01:07Was it part of a group of aircraft or was it a single aircraft going for a mission, planning mission
01:13by night, what kind of mission it was.
01:15So it will reveal later, but it's good that the bodies have been recovered and the crash site is recovered.
01:22Otherwise, the Northeast is very infamous.
01:24You actually, it is very difficult to look for the crash site and locate the debris and the air too.
01:35Sir, we have witnessed in the several such type of crash, either fighters at the heli or power hunts.
01:44Sir, you mentioned earlier that Ornasal produce, especially in Ornasal produce, like a second Brahmouda Tangle.
01:50So what is the context about it?
01:53Most of the things are because of bad weather.
01:56Because what my experience in the Air Force shows that the weather over the Northeast is very fickle.
02:01Fickle in the sense that we quick-time the weather changes in the valleys, in the deep gorges and valleys
02:07of Ornasal produce.
02:08It's very peculiar. It's unique to Ornasal produce only.
02:11Where it was bright and sunny, in another one hour it will be cloudy and rainy.
02:16So many people take chance with weather.
02:19They penetrate weather and then they go or they get into wrong valleys.
02:24If you get into wrong valleys, then there is the aircraft cannot turn around or abort like the one happened
02:30in AN-32 near Mechukwa.
02:33It went into a wrong valley, so it could not turn around.
02:37Okay.
02:37So that is how the accident was caused.
02:39So mostly because of weather and mostly my inquiry reveals that this happened mostly in the Tawang sector.
02:45Tawang-Bomdila sector.
02:46Right.
02:47Where near Selva Pass.
02:49Or we also call it as Banga-Janga.
02:52So most of them, if you remember, we lost a city minister also, Dhajji Kandu.
02:57Yes, yes.
02:58In a crash.
03:00At that time it was a aerial helicopter.
03:05Okay.
03:06And then we lost even union ministers.
03:10Okay.
03:11And also a minister, Ranatul Pradesh, Dera Natumji.
03:14Yes.
03:14They also.
03:15So like that many have been lost.
03:17So on an average, as per my calculations, it was one crash every year.
03:21Yes.
03:22If you, mostly it was helicopter sexually earlier.
03:26Right.
03:26And transport aircraft and now decently a few fighter aircraft also.
03:29So, and average one crash per year and average of eight to nine lives were lost.
03:36Okay.
03:36Per year.
03:37Some of them have been done in the line of duty also, for example, to rescue during flood
03:43relief operations and landslide operations.
03:46Then also some accidents have taken place.
03:50Okay.
03:51So North East weather is unique and we require very mature pilots to fly in North East.
03:57Okay.
03:57People who don't take chances.
03:58And what I mentioned earlier, there is a, there is a equipment called emergency locator
04:03transmitter, ELT.
04:05ELT.
04:05Yes.
04:06So ELT, it is a compulsory for all aircraft outfitted with ELT because moment a crash happens,
04:14the ELT is supposed to give a signal directly to, through a satellite to a station in Bangalore
04:20and give out the latitude and longitude.
04:23Okay.
04:24That this is where the plane is crashed.
04:26But unfortunately, even in the case of, see, Dorji Khandu also, that equilateral helicopter
04:31had a ELT but it was under maintenance, it was not serviceable.
04:35So being a, being a Sukhoi pilot, sir, being a Sukhoi pilot, do you know that in the Sukhoi
04:41do you have the ELT facilities?
04:43No, until the time I was there, it was not there.
04:46Okay.
04:46ELT was not fitted.
04:47And actually after that incident of former Chief Minister Dorji Khandu, after that another
04:53miss, 17-year-old federal crash in near Khonsa.
04:57Okay.
04:58So that happened a few years later.
05:00There, it was also not outfitted with ELT.
05:03Okay.
05:04Not configured with ELT.
05:05It took three days to search for the wreckage.
05:08Okay.
05:09So that way you are calling your...
05:10So that is also another issue.
05:12So I always say in the Northeast we require a safety aviation audit.
05:16Okay.
05:17Safety aviation audit looks into all these aspects.
05:20Safety at helipods, helipads, at airports, whether they have crash fire tenders, whether
05:28they have ambulances, whether they have rescue capabilities, trained manpower, like that.
05:35So there is an aviation safety audit that is required to be done, especially for Northeast.
05:41Sir, that way you are told that Ornasal Portis is like a second Brahmutant angle.
05:46I have told this because too many crashes are happening.
05:50Okay.
05:50And because of the distance from the headquarter, capital Delhi and all, people generally tend
05:58to out of sight, out of mind.
06:00Okay.
06:01So generally people ignore these places.
06:04Okay, sir.
06:04Okay.
06:05And we don't know about this current Sukhoi crash, what has happened because we'll have
06:08to wait for that FDR and cockpit voice recorder what the... and the preliminary inquiry
06:14what has happened.
06:15Okay, sir.
06:16But we'll wait.
06:18Yeah.
06:20Okay, sir.
06:20Thank you so much.
06:21Thank you for giving us a full time.
06:22You're welcome.
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