Probe team arrives in Kurnool

Hyderabad, Sept 5 :

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (Dgca) investigating team headed by R K Tyagi, which began a probe into the crash killing Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and four others, held a meeting with the local civil and police officials on Saturday.

The team recovered black box or cockpit voice of the Bell 430 helicopter from Nallamalla forests in Kurnool district, where the helicopter crashed on Wednesday. The anti-Maoist Greyhounds force, which found the black box during search operations in the area, handed it over to a team of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

"The black box is expected to help in the investigations to know the cause of crash. The team has taken it to Delhi to retrieve the messages. The investigators will know what were the last messages given by the pilots before the crash," said Lakshmikant, revenue divisional officer in Atmakur in Kurnool district.

A case of unnatural deaths has been registered at Atmakur police station following a complaint by a local revenue official. The police booked a case under section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

YSR, who first became chief minister in May 2004, was flying from Hyderabad to Chittoor district when his helicopter crashed in a dense forest and exploded in Kurnool district. His charred body was found Thursday, over 24 hours after the helicopter went missing.

The committee has been asked to complete its inquiry and submit its report to the government within two months. The committee will also take the assistance of other experts from Indian Air Force wherever required, it said.

The manufacturer of Bell helicopters has offered its assistance to authorities in probing the crash of the Bell-430 chopper which claimed the lives of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajashekhar Reddy and four others. "We have offered our assistance to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation," Bell Helicopter spokesman Gregory Hubbard said.