17 June,2011 06:58 AM IST | | Imran Gowhar
Tourism Minister G Janardhana Reddy gave everyone a scare after a helicopter, in which he was traveling to attend a public meeting at Hoovina Hadagali yesterday morning, lost contact with the Airport Transit System (ATS) for over an hour.
His worried family members and supporters breathed a sigh of relief when the chopper pilot established contact, and landed at their destination after a while.
Reddy accompanied by Health Minister Sri Ramulu's sister and MP J Shantha, MLC Mrityunjaya Jinaga and Reddy's PA Kanthi lifted off from Bellary to attend Nimmondige navu programme when the incident happened.
Long route
The chopper took off as scheduled from Havembavi airstrip near Reddy's house at 11 am and was supposed to land at Hadagali within 30 to 35 minutes. However, there was no news of the helicopter landing even after an hour leading to some panic on the ground.
Upon enquiring, the police found out that the pilot of the chopper was new and as a result of heavy rain and wind, the airman opted to take a detour to the Koppal route and got lost in the process.
Meanwhile, Shantha informed that the failure by the new pilot to follow and identify the normal route caused anxiety. She also said that Janardhana, who was well versed with the route map of the district, navigated the pilot back on route.
