Odisha CM’s defunct helicopter starts journey to Mumbai on road for repair

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s helicopter, which had been stranded in Kendrapara district for over a month, finally commenced its road journey to Mumbai for repairs on Wednesday, officials confirmed.

The chopper had flown Majhi to Kendrapara on 9 June, but shortly afterwards it developed technical faults caused by lightning strikes. Since then, it remained grounded on the Kendrapara college playing field, unable to fly due to unresolved mechanical problems.

“Engineers could not rectify the problems in the aircraft which was stranded on the Kendrapara college playground since then,” said Additional District Magistrate Rabindra Kumar Mallick.

A team of aviation engineers was dispatched to remove the helicopter’s blades. With the assistance of an earthmover, the aircraft was carefully lifted onto a trailer lorry, marking the start of its lengthy road trip to Mumbai for maintenance.

“The helicopter was manufactured by Germany’s Airbus company. Following safety protocols, we are shifting it on the road. After reaching Mumbai, the helicopter will be repaired,” said Kartik Chandra Dutta, the operations manager of Mumbai-based Heligo Charters Private Limited (HCPL), the service provider operating the aircraft.

HCPL is known for utilising Airbus helicopters in its fleet across India.

“It would take 10 days for us to take the helicopter to Mumbai from Kendrapara on the road, covering around 800 kilometres,” added an aviation engineer from the team that travelled from Mumbai to accompany the helicopter.

The unusual sight of a grounded chopper being transported by road has drawn attention in Kendrapara, marking a rare instance of aircraft movement via highways due to mechanical failure.

(With PTI inputs)