Gwalior aircraft crash: Pilot refutes charge of causing 'loss of Rs 85 crore' to state govt
India Today
The pilot of Beech Craft King Air B 250 GT aircraft, that crash landed in Gwalior in May last year, has refuted charges of negligence that allegedly caused a loss of Rs 85 crore to the state exchequer.
The pilot of the ill-fated state aircraft of the Madhya Pradesh government that crash landed in Gwalior on May 6, 2021, has refuted charges of negligence that allegedly caused a loss of Rs 85 crore to the state exchequer.
The Madhya Pradesh government, while handing out the charge sheet to captain Mazid Akhtar last week, had alleged that the plane that cost around Rs 60 crore was reduced to scrap because of the crash. The government further stated that it had to hire planes from other private operators as a consequence that cost another Rs 25 crore.
Interestingly, the state government is silent over how the Beech Craft King Air B 250 GT was allowed to fly without following up on the mandatory insurance protocols. According to an aviation department insider, the state government could have recovered the cost of the plane even after it was reduced to scrap had the insurance protocols been followed.
Read | MP air crash: A near fatal accident and no insurance
Captain Mazid Akhtar, in his reply to the chargesheet that has been accessed by India Today, said the crash was caused by the arrestor barrier installed at the Gwalior airport about which he was not informed by the air traffic controller (ATC).
Captain Mazid, who has a flying experience of over 27 years, also alleged that he was not provided the contents of the black box which contains all the instructions received from the Gwalior ATC.
The plane was carrying 71 boxes of Remdesivir from Ahmadabad to Gwalior via Indore during the peak of the second Covid-19 wave when the crash occurred.
