Charlie’s angels to track VVIP chopper

Whenever the late chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s convoy made its way from his camp office in Begumpet to the Secretariat, policemen used to pass on messages to their colleagues posted ahead on the route that ‘‘Charlie Mike’’ (code word for the CM) had passed a particular junction. In the wake of the chopper crash in which YSR was killed, the State police is considering the possibility of adopting a similar drill to track down a VVIP chopper every few minutes. To be in constant touch with the pilot and the VVIP, the department intends to set up ground stations in all districts with very high frequency (VHF) and high frequency (HF) networks. Top police sources told Express that since helicopters do not fly at very high altitudes, it is possible for pilots to communicate with the police much like they do with the Air Traffic Control (ATC). Pilots communicate with ATC through VHF and HF sets every four minutes.

Simultaneously, police officials will also be writing to the Ministry of Civil Aviation to let them have a special antenna atop the VVIP chopper. The antenna receives signals even in interior areas and helps those on board to stay in touch with the rest of the world via a satellite phone.

Days after the crash, police officials went on a sortie to test in what conditions satellite phones work. When they flew over dense forests and interior areas, they found that the satellite phone was not receiving signals.

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