Andhra Pradesh CM's chopper develops technical snag

Anantapur, April 26:  Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy's helicopter on Wednesday developed technical snag at Narpala in Anantapur district, forcing him to travel to Puttaparthi by road.

The pilot identified the snag in the fuel supply system of the chopper before take-off at Narpala. The chief minister left for Puttaparthi Airport by road.

The chief minister was scheduled to fly to Puttaparthi after addressing a public meeting at Narpala mandal headquarters. After the meeting was over, the chief minister reached the helipad at 1.10 p.m. Meanwhile, the pilot noticed technical snag. As the same could not be rectified, the pilot aborted the plan for take-off.

The chief minister's security personnel arranged vehicles for his travel by road to Puttaparthi. He reached the airport at 3.20 p.m. and left for Gannavaram Airport at Vijayawada.

In January, the chief minister's flight had made an emergency landing at Gannavaram Airport after a technical snag.

The chartered aircraft in which the chief minister and senior officials were travelling to New Delhi returned to the airport, around 30 minutes after take-off.

The pilot identified an AC valve leakage which led to a problem in the pressurisation system. This forced the pilot to return to the airport to ensure safety of the passengers.