More than a month after being stranded on the college playground in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, the defunct helicopter that carried the Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on 9 June for his maiden visit to the district, embarked on its return journey to Mumbai for repair by road on a trailer vehicle on Wednesday.
The chopper developed some problems due to lightning. Three aviation engineers spent a week in Kendrapara but could not repair it, said the Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Kendrapara, Rabindra Kumar Mallick.
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A team of aviation engineers first removed the blades of the helicopter and later with the help of a JCB machine lifted it on a trailer for its journey to Mumbai on the road.
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Kartik Chandra Dutta, the operation manager of Mumbai based Heligo Charters Pvt. Ltd (HCPL), said, “This helicopter was manufactured by Germany-based Airbus Company. As per the safety of the helicopter and pilots, we shifted it on the road. After reaching Mumbai, the helicopter will be repaired “.
“It would take ten days for us to carry the helicopter to Mumbai from Kendrapara on the road covering around 800 kilometers. We will follow it on two vehicles on the highway for its safe journey, said an aviation engineer who came from Mumbai to carry it on the road.
The chief minister landed safely on the temporary helipad on the college ground. But he was compelled to return from Kendrapara on the road as the chopper developed some technical problems due to lightning.
Since 9 June, the helicopter struck the sole playground of the college as a result students and others were facing a lot of problems.
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