Andhra Pradesh government directs officials to examine fitness of helicopter being used by Chief Minister

The State government on Monday reportedly ordered a probe into the fitness of the helicopter being used by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, which was provided to Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal for his scheduled tour in Andhra Pradesh.

Mr. Piyush Goyal was to fly from Tirupati to Krishnapatnam port but cancelled this short visit following the detection of a technical snag in the chopper, and returned to Delhi.

Director General of Police (DGP) Harish Kumar Gupta directed the Intelligence officials to submit a report on the fitness of the helicopter, which was allotted to the Union Minister.

The Union Minister, who was in Tirupati, planned to visit Krishnapatnam but he backed off after the pilot flagged the technical problem.

In the wake of Air India plane crash at Ahmedabad a couple of days ago, and the chopper crash near Kedarnath in Uttarakhand on June 15, officials sounded an alert after a technical snag in the Chief Minister’s helicopter surfaced.

The DGP directed the Intelligence, Civil Aviation and other officials to inquire into the condition of the chopper and submit a report on whether the helicopter is fit to take to the skies.

The Intelligence department, along with the technical experts concerned, will inquire into the condition of the engine, flying hours, experience of the pilots and other aspects and submit a report on the fitness of the chopper, a senior official said.

Published - June 16, 2025 08:13 pm IST