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Sukhbir Badal’s chopper makes emergency landing

Punjab Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal

CHANDIGARH: The Bell 230 helicopter that was ferrying the Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and president of the ruling Akali Dal, Sukhbir Singh Badal, made an emergency landing at Gobind Nagar along the Jalalabad-Fazilka road in Ferozepur district on Sunday morning.

Mr. Sukhbir Badal, the aircraft crew and other occupants were reported to be completely safe and attended the pre-scheduled functions later.

According to an official release quoting a spokesman of the Chief Minister’s Office, the chopper was chartered from Prem Air by the Punjab Government for “VIP flying duty” to facilitate Mr. Badal to attend the “thanksgiving” programmes in Jalalabad, from where he was elected to the Punjab Assembly recently.

On arrival near the scheduled BSF helipad at Jalalabad, pilot and co-pilot Col. Vishnu Rawal and Capt Padma, respectively, experienced some difficulty and decided to ascend for alternate landing site.

As per aviation norms, they jettisoned some of the fuel of the chopper before steering the aircraft to on an unscheduled landing site.

While the Punjab government has referred the incident to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), for a full-scale inquiry, preliminary reports hinted towards a technical snag in the cyclical control of the helicopter.

Meanwhile, Mr. Badal has thanked the well wishers who had been frantically seeking about his welfare since morning.

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