24 April,2009 07:46 AM IST | | Aditya Anand
Stones were found in the gearbox of the helicopter
In an incident that could have serious repercussions, pieces of some foreign material were recovered from the central gearbox of a helicopter owned by Anil Ambani's Reliance Transport and Travel Ltd.
The foreign material, believed to be small stones, was discovered during a servicing of the central gearbox of the 13-seater Bell 412 type helicopter (VT-RCL). The chopper is registered as Non-Scheduled Operator (NSOP) with the DGCA and was being used by Samajwadi Party leaders like Amar Singh, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sanjay Dutt and Jaya Prada.
Experts warned that had the helicopter been flying, it would have crashed. Sources in Reliance Transport and Travel Ltd disclosed that the Bell 412 was in the custody of a Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) unit located in the old airport area at Kalina. "Two employees put mud and gravel in the gearbox because there was a union problem at the MRO. They have been identified," said a Reliance official.u00a0
Aviation expert Vipul Saxena said, "Such incidents place the apron area under a bigger threat than previously imagined." He added that if the unknown pieces, termed Foreign Object Damage, had been metal pieces formed due to wear and tear of the rotor assembly, the chip detection light would have illuminated during the last flight.
Saxena explained that unless a foolproof apron safety action plan is implemented at the Mumbai airport, the safety situation would continue to remain low.u00a0 S M Ghuge, senior inspector, airport police station said, "A complaint has been registered under Section 440, for mischief committed with the intent to cause death or hurt."
