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The civil aviation ministry's inquiry panel probing the cause of the helicopter crash that resulted in the death of Lok Sabha Speaker G M C Balayogi on Sunday, visited the scene of the mishap in Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh on Monday.
According to official sources in Hyderabad, panel chairman Lt Gen A Natarajan, accompanied by Director-General of Civil Aviation H S Khosla and Air Safety Controller (South) Bir Singh Rai, visited Kovvadalanka village near Kaikalur, about 350 km east of Hyderabad.
They examined the wreckage of the helicopter and spoke to eyewitnesses at the site.
They told mediapersons that the inquiry panel was entrusted the task of establishing the cause of the helicopter crash - whether it was adverse weather, human error or a technical snag.
The Bell 206 B-3 Jetranger helicopter, owned by Deccan Aviation Private Limited, was an 11-year-old machine and had been acquired by Deccan Aviation in 1997.
It had logged 1,900 hours of flying time and had a valid certificate of airworthiness. The single-engine chopper reportedly had no history of technical problems.
Balayogi was travelling from Bhimavaram to Hyderabad when the aircraft hit a coconut tree and high-tension power lines before crashing in a fishpond at Kovvadalanka.
Besides Balayogi, his additional private secretary K S Raju and pilot G V Menon, died instantaneously.
Balayogi's Death: Complete Coverage
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