Naveen's Patnaik copter air-borne for 45 mins, engineer suspended

BHUBANESHWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's chopper went missing for about 45 minutes causing quite a stir for those waiting for him on ground. The CM who was already in Jeypore, inaugurating projects and addressing a public rally, was scheduled to reach Kotpad in the southern district of Koraput district at about 12.40 pm.

But wrong coordinates, that could cost an engineer from the state public works department his job, had the chopper circling around in air. The delayed chopper, with CM and his security, over area that is maoist- affected caused understandably panic.

The police and local administration eventually caught on, and resend the pilot the correct coordinates of where he was supposed to deposit his passengers. It has emerged that the PWD whose job it is to get the GPS details of the place had mistakenly noted down the latitude of helipad for the day as 19 degres instead of 18 degrees. The police has since also clarified that communication with the pilot during this period had been maintained.

It seemed like the day would finally end on a happier note as Patnaik arrived safely back to the capital to listen Christmas carols at the St Vincent’s Cathedral. The children had just begun their third song when a power outage brought that event to an abrupt end.