17-Nov-2014Source: HAL
The Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Technology Demonstrator TD-3 made the successful maiden flight here today. “Escorted by a Dhruv helicopter, the entire flight was flawless. It will be an effective weapon platform to deliver precision strikes at high altitude and we are confident it will meet the requirements of the IAF”, says Dr. R.K. Tyagi,... Read more
14-Nov-2014Source: RUAviation
The goods exchange between the countries should increase dramatically by 2015, it was stated at the 20th meeting of the Russian-Indian intergovernmental commission on trade and economic, scientific-technical and cultural cooperation held on November 5th in New Delhi, press-service of Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade reports. See Full Story... Read more
11-Nov-2014Source: Yahoo Finance
State-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) and national helicopter company Pawan Hans will be listed on the stock exchanges early next year. See Full Story... Read more
10-Nov-2014Source: The Economic Times
Arunachal Pradesh Tourism, Art and Culture Minister Pema Khandu today urged the executing agency to expedite early completion of the Ugyen Sangpo heliport at Tawang in compliance with the guidelines issued by the Director General of civil aviation (DGCA). See Full Story... Read more
29-Oct-2014Source: TOI
In order to utilize and develop the 16-air strips across the state and provide air connectivity to religious spots, the state government on Tuesday signed an MOU with a company to facilitate air travelers. See Full Story... Read more
13-Oct-2014Source: DC
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will soon get a private jet and a helicopter to tour various parts of the state. See Full Story... Read more
8-Oct-2014Source: HeliHub.com
India’s Public Enterprises Selection Board has reportedly picked BP Sharma, an executive director at AAI and the current director of Kolkata airport for the top job at Pawan Hans – under the title of Chairman & Managing Director. The standard process is for Sharma’s name to be sent to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet,... Read more
8-Oct-2014Source: HeliHub.com
Telangana state Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has revealed plans to buy a new helicopter. The State Government of Telangana would plan to use the aircraft for the official use of the Chief Minister and other VVIPs. Telangana state Chief Secretary Dr Rajiv Sharma has been entrusted with the responsibility of sourcing the new aircraft.... Read more
1-Oct-2014
Cheetah helicopter of the Indian Army taking part in the ongoing military exercise at the Jat Regimetanl Centre (JRC) at Bareilly crashed minutes after take-off killing all three on board. It had gained only a few hundred metres in height when it caught fire mid-air. Another report states it was a maintenance flight. The three... Read more
18-Sep-2014
Extensively damaged in “heavy landing”. 4 POB injured, but not life threatening... Read more
11-Sep-2014
Percautionary landing due to poor weather. On the ground five hours before continuing journey from Vadodara to Udaipur. No indication in the press report how much pre-flight planning the pilot had done with the weather forecast. Operator Trans Bharat Aviation has three Bell 407s and one 206... Read more
21-Aug-2014Source: Defence web
The Nigerian Air Force will soon take delivery of two AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters, which will be used for VIP transport duties. See Full Story HeliHub.com understands these are from the batch previously expected to be delivered to India... Read more
13-Aug-2014Source: TOI
Gurgaon district administration is mulling a proposal to set up a ‘heliport hub’ in the city for disaster management and air ambulance. See Full Story... Read more
12-Aug-2014Source: HeliHub.com
The Public Enterprises Selection Board of the Indian Government has recently put out advertisements for the post of Chairman & Managing Director of the Government-owned operator Pawan Hans. The current Chairman & Managing Director Anil Srivastava, who has 29 years experience in various Government roles, and has been in office just short of two and... Read more
8-Aug-2014Source: Times of India
The Navy’s wait for desperately-needed anti-submarine warfare helicopters to operate from its warships has just got longer. “See Full Story“... Read more
5-Aug-2014Source: Daily Mail
The Indian Air Force has grounded its fleet of around 40 Dhruv helicopters in view of the recent crash in which seven of its personnel were killed. See full story... Read more
30-Jul-2014Source: HeliHub.com
Sadly there was a bad accident with an Indian Air Force Dhruv in the state of Uttar Pradesh last Friday, and we recorded that in our Safety data section here. The “black box” – Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) – are now being analysed in an attempt to find out what... Read more
25-Jul-2014
Emergency declared shortly after take-off, then crashed killing all seven on board. Copilot named here as Sqn. Ldr. R. Manu... Read more
14-Jul-2014Source: GNRC
GNRC (formerly known as Guwahati Neurological Research Centre) today unveiled plans to initiate air ambulance and medical outreach programme using helicopters to remote areas of North-east India. The service will regularly ferry doctors from GNRC to difficult-to-access locations across the region and provide doorstep medical support to the population across the North-eastern states of Arunachal... Read more
13-Jun-2014
Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawa fractured a bone in his neck after the helicopter “suffered three consecutive jolts” within a couple of minutes after its take-off. Emergency landing made shortly after. The CM was only wearing a seatbelt loosely... Read more
11-Jun-2014Source: Exaro
AgustaWestland reportedly faces the prospect of a criminal investigation in the UK if any evidence appears in the current Indian investigation warrant it – see full story... Read more
1-Jun-2014Source: Gulf Times
Businessman Ratan Tata said his group remains committed to its partnership with AgustaWestland in spite of a corruption scandal that has engulfed the helicopter business of Italian group Finmeccanica. See full story... Read more
29-May-2014Source: Finmeccanica
AgustaWestland informs that today, the Court of Milan partially upheld the complaint lodged by the Indian Ministry of Defence, and thereby revoked the order issued by the judge on last March 17 on the seeking of emergency interim lodged by AgustaWestland to resist the calling of certain first demand bank guarantees provided with reference to... Read more
26-May-2014Source: Columbia Helicopters
Columbia Helicopters is pleased to announce the appointment of Kees Blekxtoon as a Senior Advisor to the company. Mr. Blekxtoon will support the company’s marketing efforts in the Netherlands and India. Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Blekxtoon has served as President for The Boeing Company, Northern & Western Europe, and as President of Stork/Fokker International.... Read more
26-May-2014Source: Times of India
Members of the Royal Western India Turf Club are complaining as government plans would reduce the availability of a public open space. See full story... Read more
19-May-2014Source: Rostec
CEO of the Holding Alexander Mikheev reported about this at a press conference dedicated to the prospects of developing of the Russian helicopter construction at the HeliRussia 2014 International Exhibition. According to Mikheev, the Indian Navy operates enough Ka-28 and Ka-31 helicopters, and sailors are familiar with all of their advantages. The head of Russian... Read more
8-May-2014Source: Business Standard
Pawan Hans has announced it will commence a daily air-passenger service for the pilgrims to Kedarnath Yatra from next Monday- see full story... Read more
27-Apr-2014
Bird strike with large bird, possibly an eagle. Uneventful emergency landing. VVIP on board – Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his MP wife Dimple escaped unhurt... Read more
11-Apr-2014Source: Mumbai Mirror
In a letter to aviation regulator DGCA, the Rotary Wing Society of India has said that there are no security personnel at helipads to subject VIPs, especially politicians, and their luggage to checks. See full story... Read more
8-Apr-2014
Experienced severe vibrations and made an emergency/forced landing at an agricultural field 12 NM short of the destination.... Read more
7-Apr-2014Source: HAL
The Indian Air Force and HAL have decided to work on joint plans on various fronts for better understanding of issues so that both contribute effectively in India’s defence preparedness. The entire board of HAL and senior officials flew down from Bangalore to interact with the top commanders of IAF at the conference held at... Read more
1-Apr-2014Source: HeliHub.com
Now that we are past the notional mid-day cut-off in Europe and east coast USA for 1st April pranks, it’s time for us to come clean and confirm this was not a true story – although given our inbox, Twitter etc, there were certainly some people who believed it. The clues were there to be... Read more
13-Mar-2014Source: Russian Helicopters
Russian Helicopters, a subsidiary of Oboronprom, part of State Corporation Rostec, has built the 3,500th export version of the Mi-17 at Kazan Helicopters. The helicopter will be delivered to the Indian Armed Forces as part of a contract signed by Rosoboronexport in 2012. A contract for 80 military transport Mi-17V-5 helicopters was signed by Rosoboronexport in 2008,... Read more
13-Mar-2014Source: HAL
HAL will be showcasing its civil aviation based activities at India Aviation 2014, a premiere Civil Aviation exhibition to be held at Hyderabad from March 12-16. “It will be a good platform for HAL to show-case its achievements in Civil Aviation sector since nearly 50 companies from all over the world, including the global giants... Read more
12-Mar-2014Source: Russian Helicopters
Russian Helicopters, a subsidiary of Oboronprom, part of State Corporation Rostec, will be attending the India Aviation 2014 international civil aviation exhibition and conference, which will run from 12-16 March 2014 at the Begumpet airport exhibition centre, Hyderabad, India. Russian Helicopters will showcase its current and forthcoming helicopter models to operators from South and South-East... Read more
26-Feb-2014Source: ZeeNews
BSF chief Subhash Joshi is reported to have said that the two helicopters are due for delivery around September 2014 See full story... Read more
24-Feb-2014Source: Times of India
The state government plans to connect the Sunderbans – the world’s largest mangrove forests and a Unesco World Heritage site – with Kolkata by helicopter. See full story... Read more
22-Feb-2014Source: HAL
An “Aerospace Industry-Academia Conclave” was organised at HAL under thechairmanship of Prof S. G. Dhande, former Director, IIT Kanpur on February 17, 2014 in presence of senior executives of HAL and other distinguished academicians. HAL aims to pursue its leading role in the Indian aerospace industry through this conclave and create an ecosystem for enhancing... Read more
21-Feb-2014Source: Two Circles
The three-day challenge has been organised by the Kashmir Heliski Club and sponsored by Airbus Helicopters See full story... Read more
12-Feb-2014Source: Turbomeca
During the Singapore Airshow, Turbomeca announced the achievement of a major milestone for both Turbomeca Asia Pacific (Singapore) and Heligo Charters Pvt Mumbai, India Ltd who have signed a new “Support By The Hour” (SBH®) contract to cover the Arriel 2C engines fitted on its fleet of two Dauphin AS 365N3 helicopters. Mr. Aurelien Blanc,... Read more
12-Feb-2014Source: Bell
Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE: TXT), is pleased to announce the first delivery of a Bell 407GX in India to SpanAir, the country’s leading air charter company. Specializing in customized travel options, SpanAir offers a fleet of aircraft fully equipped with the latest in aviation and safety technology, including all weather and IFR... Read more
2-Feb-2014Source: FAA
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced that India has been assigned a Category 2 rating under its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program, based on a recent reassessment of the country’s civil aviation authority. This signifies that India’s civil aviation safety oversight regime does not currently comply with the international safety... Read more
30-Jan-2014Source: DNA India
Various reasons cited, including no building at All India Institute of Medical Science having the required 25m length for the helipad – see full story... Read more
27-Jan-2014Source: HeliHub.com
Bell has offered the V-22 Osprey to India in the wake of the not-yet-finalised AW101 debacle. The AW101 situation is far from over. India finally agreed to appoint an arbitrator on 1st January, almost three months after AgustaWestland took the same step when India unilaterally decided to suspend the contract. According to AgustaWestland, there is... Read more
26-Jan-2014Source: Times of India
Officials on Friday said the Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica had booked exhibition space at the show for its several companies to hawk their military hardware and software but its participation at Def Expo 2014 (due to open 6th February) had now been cancelled. See full story... Read more
26-Jan-2014Source: eTurboNews
Goa’s state committee for tourism infrastructure projects headed by chief minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday approved in principle the proposal made by Pawan Hans to run the helicopter ride service in the state. See full story... Read more
23-Jan-2014Source: HAL
Mr. Dinsha Patel, the Minister of Mines dedicated custom-made ALH-Dhruv, Garuda Vasudha to the nation by unveiling a plaque during a video conference from New Delhi at a function here today. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Patel hailed efforts of HAL in making this possible and said the copter should be used to get maximum... Read more
23-Jan-2014Source: HAL
India needs more helicopters compared to West and China as these wonder machines have proved their mettle in variety of uses by Armed Forces in general, during natural calamities and internal security threats, said Dr. R.K. Tyagi, Chairman, HAL. Pointing out that these machines ensure better governance but the country has far less copters compared... Read more
18-Jan-2014
Helicopter wheels stuck in concrete – helipad had been hastily built for new Santiniketan-Calcutta service and had not fully set!... Read more
13-Jan-2014Source: Times of India
The Kolkata-Santiniketan helicopter service was formally inaugurated on Sunday with two celebrities from the film world in attendance See full story... Read more
10-Jan-2014Source: Pawan Hans
Pawan Hans pays dividend after a gap of 4 years. Cheque of dividend of Rs.1,19,32,164/- for the financial year 2012-13 was presented to the Hon’ble Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Ajit Singh by Shri Anil Srivastava, Chairman & Managing Director,Pawan Hans in the presence of Shri Ashok Lavasa, Secretary, Civil Aviation Sh. Alok Sinha JS,Sh.... Read more
10-Jan-2014Source: India Today
Aviation Ministry has ordered an inquiry into a salary scam by Pawan Hans officials. A recent investigation by the Civil Aviation Ministry found that crores of rupees were paid to several senior Pawan Hans officers by wrong means and by flouting the law. See full story... Read more
7-Jan-2014Source: Business Standard
The department had also communicated that the existing chopper had complete five years of flying and it was suitable time to replace it with the latest model that had better safety features, the officials added. See full story... Read more
3-Jan-2014Source: AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, confirms to have received yesterday from India’s Ministry of Defence a notification concerning the appointment of an arbitrator from its side, as requested by AgustaWestland on November 25 and December 4, 2013, as well as a termination notice of the agreement for the supply of 12 VVIP/VIP helicopters, consistent with yesterday’s... Read more
2-Jan-2014Source: HeliHub.com
The Indian Government has released this statement – we run it verbatim with the spelling mistake! Press Information Bureau Government of India Ministry of Defence 01-January-2014 17:44 IST VVIP Choper Agreement with AgustaWestLand International Ltd. (AWIL) Terminated The Government of India has terminated with immediate effect the Agreement that was signed with M/s. AgustaWestLand International... Read more
1-Jan-2014Source: HeliHub.com
Indian operator Pawan Hans has resumed its helicopter services to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh on the Naharlagun-Guwahati-Tawang route. The resumption was made on Monday 30th December after a break of 31 months. The service to the remote mountain town close to the Chinese border was suspended following the death of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee... Read more
23-Dec-2013Source: Telegraph India
The Indian state of West Bengal has signed a contract with Pawan Hans which provides them 40 flying hours per month. The helicopter type is not referred to in the article See full story... Read more
19-Dec-2013
Emergency landing and required maintenance engineer before further flight... Read more
17-Dec-2013Source: HeliHub.com
During the ongoing official visit to India by the Maldives’ Minister of Defence and National Security Colonel (Ret.) Mohamed Nazim, the Government of India has gifted a helicopter to the MNDF. During the ceremony held at India’s Southern Naval Command in Kochin, the helicopter was ceremonially handed over by Vice Admiral Satish Soni, the Flag... Read more
17-Dec-2013
Port side landing gear failed on landing, helicopter fell onto its side. Later photo shows propped up helicopter with tail sitting on the ground and port stabiliser end-plate bent from ground contact. All six passengers and two crew safely evacuated. It is believed that the helicopter was operating on the scheduled route between Guwahati and Shillong... Read more
15-Dec-2013Source: HeliHub.com
The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party – literally “Indian People’s Party”) party in India is turning the AgustaWestland AW101 deal investigation into a domestic political row. The BJP claims to have had sight of a document which Swiss businessman Guido Haschke claimed he wrote during a meeting in 2008. The document reportedly lists initials of Indian... Read more
12-Dec-2013Source: HeliHub.com
Back in the heady days of 1991, Robinson built no fewer than 402 R22s in one year at their California factory in Torrance. By comparison, the most recent 200 R22s have been produced by Robinson Helicopter Co at a much more leisurely rate over the last four and a half years. Analysis of these 200... Read more
10-Dec-2013Source: New Indian Express
Defence Minister A K Antony on Monday gave a clean chit to his ministry in the controversial deal with Italian firm AgustaWestland, for supplying 12 VVIP helicopters, saying it had followed all procurement processes in a transparent and meticulous manner. see full story... Read more
9-Dec-2013Source: Quest Aviation Solutions
Hard on the heels of a successful Dubai Air Show, Quest Aviation Solutions announces it is broadening its relationship with MD Helicopters and effective immediately will take on sales of its Multi Mission family of helicopters in both India and China. Quest will support India and China from its sales offices in Bangalore and Beijing.... Read more
5-Dec-2013Source: HeliHub.com
Pawan Hans was in flux earlier this week after five experienced pilots quit to protest against flying anti-Naxal missions (see HeliHub.com story). Naxalites are a radical communist group, supportive of Maoist political sentiment and ideologies, and active on the eastern side of India. They are generally regarded as the biggest threat to stability in the country.... Read more
4-Dec-2013Source: Motoroids
As Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz try and out-do each other in India, Mercedes-Benz ups the stakes with a helipad See full story... Read more
4-Dec-2013Source: Mumbai Mirror
Forty Pawan Hans pilots refused to fly their helicopters from Mumbai to the offshore rigs on Monday to show solidarity with five senior officials who quit on Saturday See full story... Read more
2-Dec-2013Source: HeliHub.com
The Mumbai Mirror is reporting that five helicopter pilots from India state-owned operator Pawan Hans have quit to protest against flying anti-Naxal missions. Naxalites are a radical communist group, supportive of Maoist political sentiment and ideologies, and active on the eastern side of India. They are generally regarded as the biggest threat to stability in... Read more
25-Nov-2013Source: RIA Novosti
Russian deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin is quoted as saying that agreement was reached after talks between India’s prime minister Manmohan Singh and President Vladimir Putin last month See full story... Read more
20-Nov-2013
The LH sliding door flown off during flight causing damages to tail structure. The helicopter made an emergency landing on nearby helipad at Chowra island.... Read more
14-Nov-2013Source: HeliHub.com
AgustaWestland was reported this week in another aviation journal as having sold three AW101s from the twelve built for India – the same batch of twelve currently subject to ongoing discussions with the authorities there (more updates on that front soon, we expect!). AgustaWestland has told HeliHub.com that report is incorrect and if that was what... Read more
13-Nov-2013Source: Indian Navy
The first ALH (Dhruv) Squadron was commissioned at Kochi on 12 Nov 13 by Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief Western Naval Command. Dhruv is the first indigenously designed and manufactured helicopter at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and with its multi role capabilities has proven her mettle in all the three services of... Read more
13-Nov-2013Source: HeliHub.com
After the first run of their AGM, Global Vectra Helicorp managed to complete the formal meeting on Tuesday 12th November according to a filing made with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) made by company secretary Raakesh Soni. Previously, the company had made a short but telling update on the BSE website, with the understated title... Read more
30-Oct-2013Source: HeliHub.com
Following the farcical abandonment of the first version of their Annual General Meeting on 26th September (see HeliHub.com article), Global Vectra today issued the following statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange: Global Vectra Helicorp Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on October 11, 2013, has... Read more
25-Oct-2013Source: Sikorsky
The India joint venture established between Tata Advanced Systems and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation today announced that its S-92® helicopter cabin production in India has become 100 percent indigenous. The India operation is not only assembling cabins but also producing all parts needed for the assembly, before shipping the cabins to the U.S. for aircraft completion and customer... Read more