‘IAF choppers can't be blamed for Mumbai near mishap’

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Bangalore: Mumbai's Air Traffic Control (ATC) had given clearance to the three Indian Air Force (IAF) choppers carrying President Pratibha Patil's entourage that narrowly missed colliding with a passenger aircraft, Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major said on Wednesday.

"The IAF choppers were not at fault and were given clearance to land on the runway by the ATC," Major said on the sidelines of the Aero India show in Yelahanka near Bangalore.

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"The IAF helicopters were not told to change frequencies and no pilot can change it without being asked to do so. I think we need to fine tune the procedures on the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) part," he said.

Media reports on Wednesday said the pilots of the three helicopters had not contacted the airport tower.

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On Monday, an Air India aircraft miraculously escaped crashing into President Pratibha Patil's convoy of helicopters at the Mumbai airport. The President was inside one of three choppers.

The DGCA has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

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