Parrikar backs Dhruv copters

New Delhi, January 31

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today asserted that Dhruv helicopters were good and that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited had been asked to set up additional depots for spares after Ecuador put the Indian helicopters on “restricted” operations following a spate of accidents.

“Dhruv is a good platform. If there is any issue about maintenance... I have already discussed. I have asked HAL to create a depot wherever it is required so that spares are available,” he told reporters.

He was asked about the move by Equador to put the remaining three helicopters it had bought on restricted operations and if it would affect India’s plans to emerge globally as a defence manufacturer.

“This is a problem of getting spares in time. The HAL has taken a decision to keep Rs 400 crore aside for making spares. It might take 3-6 months,” he said.

Ecuadorian Air Force had bought seven Dhruv helicopters from state-run HAL in 2009 under a deal estimated to cost about $45 million.

Two of them had crashed earlier while two suffered accidents recently, in a span of a fortnight. “Three aircraft have had their operations restricted because they are undergoing a complete check,” security minister Cesar Navas was quoted as saying by El Universo newspaper after the accident on January 27.

Dhruv helicopter FAE 605 allegedly caught fire in Ecuador’s Amazon region on January 27 after taking off at a military base in Tena, according to local media. Two people were injured in the mishap.

It was the fourth Dhruv to suffer an accident since 2009. The mishap occurred at a time when an Indian team was there to probe the incident that took place on January 13.

Sources said another general manager (repairs and maintenance), has now being sent to the northwestern South American country following the second accident. They said the joint probe team will look into all angles, including technical and human error. — PTI