CLOSE SHAVE FOR FADNAVIS
LUCKY ESCAPE Maha CM tweets ‘nothing to worry’ after incident
A police official guards the wreckage of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ chopper, which crash landed after getting entangled in overhead wires in Latur on Thursday.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and three others escaped unhurt after a helicopter carrying them crashlanded soon after take-off from a helipad at Nilanga in Latur district of central Maharashtra.
The CM had gone to Latur to participate in BJP’s farmer outreach programme, with principal secretary Pravin Pardeshi and staff Abimanyu Pawar and Ketan Pathak. TV clips show the helicopter crash-landed near a slumlike area at Nilanga close to the helipad from where it took off.
The pilot decided on an emergency landing within two minutes of take-off. “The helicopter did not crash-land, but got caught in wires while landing. We experienced sudden jerks, but no one suffered any injury. The CM has called for a detailed probe,’’ said Ketan Pathak, officer on specialduty (OSD) with the CMO.
The chopper is owned by Maharashtra government. “I will now go to Latur and from there to Mumbai. I am fine, nothing to worry,” said Fadnavis. He also tweeted about the incident, saying, “There is nothing to worry.”
In a statement, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said: “Maharashtra Govt Sikorsky helicopter VT-CMM took off from Nilanda SE of Latur at 1200 hrs. There were 06 persons on board, including 2 crew members. Hon’ble CM of Maharashtra was also on board. After take-off, pilot found variable wind pattern. Pilot decided to land back. During landing, the helicopter got entangled in wires. The helicopter has sustained substantial damage. All six persons are safe and escaped unhurt. Spoke to commander of the flight as well as Hon’ble CM. Both informed well being of all occupants.”
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao called Fadnavis to inquire about his safety.
Thackeray and Fadnavis are known to share a good rapport. For the past two years, they have established a direct dialogue to sort out problems within the coalition. But since the bitter campaigning in the Mumbai civic polls, their relations have been strained. More recently, Thackeray has been directly taking on Fadnavis by criticising his pet policies and projects. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee also tweeted about the incident.
Fadnavis was in Latur for the Shivar Sawad initiative, which aims at reaching out to farmers across 43,000 villages.