Shinde's Satara-bound helicopter diverted to Mumbai due to bad weather; takes off again later

A Maharashtra government helicopter carrying Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to Satara from Mumbai was on Thursday afternoon diverted due to bad weather to Juhu in the metropolis, where it landed safely, a senior official of aviation regulator DGCA said.

The Airbus Helicopters-manufactured chopper was 10 minutes away from Dare village in Satara, where it was scheduled to land, when the twin-engine copter was turned back due to inclement weather in the western Maharashtra district, said sources.

The helicopter again took off for Satara, the home district of Shinde, at 3.30 pm when the weather conditions improved, said the official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

“EC145 type helicopter (now called H145) of the Govt of Maharashtra with CM onboard got airborne at 12.30 pm from the Raj Bhavan helipad (in south Mumbai) for the Dare helipad (near Satara city). Enroute the helicopter encountered bad weather and diverted back to the Juhu aerodrome (in Mumbai) and landed safely,” the official said.

On taking off again at 3.30 pm, the chopper carrying Shinde landed at the Sainik School helipad in Satara at 4.45 pm and the chief minister subsequently left for his native village Dare by car, said the sources.

After dropping Shinde in Satara, the helicopter later flew to adjoining Pune for evening halt, they said.