I WAS SMILING. WE WERE ALIVE.
There was nothing special about May 9, or the helicopter we were travelling in when we started from Ranchi to inaugurate a power sub- station at Kuchai in Seraikela-Kharsawan district. But 70 minutes later, it forever changed the way I will look at life.
My wife Meera, who was accompanying us, was sitting next to me in the helicopter. MLA Barkuanr Gagrai and security officer Manoj Kumar Singh were on the opposite seats. The 25- minute flight was eventless but we knew immediately that the chopper had developed a serious problem when it could not land at Kuchai. The chopper took a sudden right turn when the pilots tried to land at Kuchai. They took it higher and made a fresh landing attempt. Again the chopper took a sharp right turn and could not land.
The two pilots, Vipul Kumar Singh and GPS Kaushik, gestured at me to put on the headphone. They told me that the tail rudder that gives directional stability to the chopper had developed a serious problem. They wanted to return to Ranchi where backup support could be provided after a hard landing, and asked for my permission. I trusted their wisdom and told them to handle the situation as they deemed fit. It was 11.50 a. m. when I heard the pilots talking to Air Traffic Control ( ATC) in Ranchi, explaining to them the problem and the plan to turn back to Ranchi.
I was the only one among the four passengers who knew the chopper had developed a serious snag. My mind was suddenly filled with information about helicopter crashes in the past. I vividly remember the October 2011 BSF helicopter crash in Jharkhand following a similar snag which had left all three on board dead. I recalled the ill fate of Arunachal chief minister Dorjee Khandu and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy who died in helicopter crashes. I could not recall a single survivor following a helicopter crash.
Worried questions from my wife brought me back to reality. We are returning to Ranchi and the chopper doesn’t seem stable, she said. I told her there was nothing to worry about and that I had been in similar situations before.
The pilots were asking ATC to vacate the entire runway at Birsa Munda airport within 15 minutes. A scheduled flight had to be diverted for that. I did not intervene in their conversation. Not even once. But there was no silver lining in sight. The chopper was still unstable and there were multiple challenges. I had to maintain a brave face, but the closer we got to
The Jharkhand CM survived a helicopter crash. He recounts the horror.
Ranchi, the harder it became.
Of course, I could not mislead Meera for long. She could see the rescue team and fire fighters at Birsa Munda airport. She was a little nervous but appeared resigned to her fate. She asked me to call someone in the family to take care of our three children. It was easy to turn emo- tional and make that one call that seemed important at that point. So I switched off my mobile phone because it could have had generated a similar desire in the other passengers also, which could have made the pilots nervous.
The pilots were trying to land and made at least six rounds. They also wanted to finish the fuel before the crash- landing to minimise risks of an explosion. We were getting ready for a touchdown. I tightened Meera’s seat belt and my own, comforted her and the others and got ready.
Though the speed of the chopper was reduced because of directional deficiency, it could have still rolled over after landing. So the pilots brought the chopper down to a height of around 15 feet from the ground and switched off the twin engines. The chopper crashed to the ground, turned on its left towards the western side of the runway, bang in the middle of the airport.
My left hand was trapped in the broken door of the chopper. I could not speak but gestured to the rescue team to pull my hand out as I was in great pain. But I remember I was smiling because all of us were alive.
I am bedridden, and will remain so for a few more weeks, but I believe it was punarjanam ( rebirth). This is a new life given to me by the almighty. I intend to make full use of it.