'Malfunction, strong winds caused Faridabad crash'

As aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation began probing the Faridabad air crash that claimed ten lives, the preliminary probe pointed towards technical malfunction and high velocity winds as the major reasons for the accident.

DGCA Director Ram Nath, told rediff.com that a combination of "high-velocity winds" and technical snag caused the crash.

"Prima facie, we think that the relatively light plane could not maneuver through the high-velocity wind and storm that struck the area on Wednesday night. There is also the possibility of a technical snag. We suspect the crash took place because of combination of these two factors," he said.

Nath said that the pilots must have lost control after the single-engine light plane hit the heavy storm. The Pilatus PC-12 single-engine turboprop aircraft, belonging to Delhi-based Air Chartered Services India Limited, was to land at IGI Airport at 10.50 pm. It has the capacity to carry nine passengers and two pilots. 

Ram Nath said that they did not recover the Cockpit Voice Recorder or commonly known as Black Boxes.

"This plane weighed less than 4,500 kg and such a light plane is not required to install CVRs. It was no surprise when we did not recover one. We are trying to ascertain what went wrong," Ram Nath said.

Nath said that a DGCA team has been formed to find the reason behind the crash.

"We have already conducted wreckage spotting. We have photographed the wreck and the places it crashed into to get an idea of what happened. We will recreate the scene to get a better understanding," Nath added.

With inputs from PTI