Mumbai, October 9, 2011: Helicopter VT - AZX was on routine Aerial Photography Shoot in State of Karnataka. The photography from the air is being done after obtaining necessary clearances from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Dir. General of Civil Aviation with Security Officer nominated by MoD on board. The helicopter after completion of the shoot was being ferried back to its base Juhu, Mumbai via Belgaum.

It departed from Belgaum on 8th October 2011 at 15: 00hrs for Juhu for the ferry. Capt. DS Nayyar was the pilot in command. There were four passengers on board including helicopter Engineer and film shoot crew.

After its take off from Belgaum, the weather enroute in the Ghat sections started deteriorating. It started drizzling with poor visibility. As a safe practice, the pilot diverted to the helicopter towards west to come out from Hilly terrain and flew toward the coast line of Ratnagiri and made Precautionary landing at Ratnagiri Beach in an open area.

The helicopter touched down at 1630 hours. After assessing that weather was clear along the coast line and that there was sufficient fuel to continue the flight, the pilot decided to take off for Juhu. While passing thru the bad weather the camera mounted for shoot got drenched in water, hence during the precautionary landing the camera technician and helicopter engineer got off from the helicopter to remove the camera from the nose of the helicopter as it was wet and to avoid any further damage.

The helicopter continued its flight to Juhu as per approved flight plan. In the evening after landing at Juhu, the details of precautionary landing was informed to MLU (Movement Liaison Unit).

About Global Vectra Helicorp Limited
GVHL is India’s largest private helicopter company, with a fleet of 23 aircrafts, including Bell Helicopters (Bell 412), Eurocopters (EC 155, B1, EC 135 P2, and AS 350 B3) and Agusta (AW139). The fleet of helicopters, which range from small light helicopters to medium-sized twin helicopters, offer seating capacity for 4–15 passengers. GVHL offers offshore transportation services to the oil and gas sector. Through Birdie, its onshore operations, GVHL offers underslung, religious and charter services throughout the country.

GVHL is listed on the National Stock Exchange and the Mumbai Stock Exchange. It is an ISO 9001-2000, 14001-2004, and OHSAS 18001-1999 certified company. These certifications cover all GVHL activities, including flight operations, engineering, safety, quality control, and commercial systems. GVHL’s maintenance facility at the Juhu air base in Mumbai meets international quality standards. It has received certification from the Directorate General Civil Aviation, Government of India.

For further details contact:
Ms. Benedicte Meyssan (Mumbai) &Dilip Singh (Delhi)
Mob: +91-9867858330