Ranchi, May 9: Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda, his wife and four others today miraculously escaped with injuries when a helicopter carrying them crash landed at the airport here due to a probable radar malfunction.
The 44-year-old Munda suffered multiple injuries including on his shoulder and ankle and was in the ICU of Apollo Hospital here, but doctors termed his condition as stable and said he out of danger.
All the six persons were conscious and able to talk coherently, they said.
The chief minister was headed for Kuchai in Sareikela-Kharsawan district to inaugurate a power sub-station but could not land there because of a technical problem and was returning to the airport when the mishap took place.
“At present he (Munda) is stable and out of danger,” Apollo Hospital Superintendent P D Sinha told PTI. Neuro surgeon Sanjay Kumar said there is no need for any immediate surgery on any patient as CT scan reports are found normal.
Pilots Vipul Kumar Singh and G P S Kaushik had some external injuries, he said, adding doctors are investigating whether Munda and his wife suffered any internal wounds.
“The helicopter crash landed from a height of 20-25 feet at the Birsa Munda Airport here,” DGP G S Rath said. The mishap occurred at 12.30 pm.
Security officer Manoj Singh and BJP MLA Barkuanr Gagrai were also on board the twin-engined Agusta AW 109 helicopter.
According to preliminary probe reports, the radar appeared to have malfunctioned which had led to problems in the helicopter landing at Kuchai, sources said in Delhi.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed concern over the incident and wished all a speedy recovery.
“The Prime Minister expresses concern over Chief Minister Munda and Mrs Munda being injured in helicopter mishap. The Prime Minister wishes both of them a speedy recovery,” the PMO said in Delhi.
Aviation regulator DGCA has launched a probe into the accident in which the chopper turned turtle and lay on its side.
“We have appointed Assistant Director (Air Safety) Sanit Kumar as the investigating officer,” Director General of Civil Aviation E K Bharat Bhushan told PTI in Delhi.
All aspects of the accident, including the reported technical snag, is being investigated by the DGCA probe panel. After the helicopter failed to land at Kuchai, it went back to Ranchi's Birsa Munda Airport but again failed to land.
This led the pilots to “force it down”, leading to the crash landing and the helicopter turning turtle on hitting the ground causing injuries to Munda and the others, officials said.
“When we are over Kuchai, we realised that there was problem in our control system and went back to Ranchi as such situations require runways,” one of the pilots told reporters from his hospital bed.
The weather was fine at the time of the mishap which revived memories of chopper crashes that had claimed the lives of Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and Dorji Khandu respectively and Lok Sabha Speaker G M C Balayogi in the last one decade.
A fortnight ago, Munda's chopper had made an emergency landing in Jamshedpur due to bad weather.
