Wrong coordinates leave Odisha CM stranded midair

Koraput(Odisha): Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday was made to circle around in the air for nearly 45 minutes after his helicopter failed to land at Kotpad near here due to wrong coordinates (inputs) sent to the pilot by the local public works department engineers.

According to sources, the chief minister, who had gone to Koraput district for laying foundation stone for new projects, landed at Jeypore on time. From Jeypore, his helicopter took off at 12.40 pm for Kotpad, which just five minutes travel. However, till 1.30 pm, his helicopter did not show up at Kotpad triggering speculations.

Sources said the pilot failed to locate the landing spot at Kotpad due to wrong coordinates sent to him by the executive engineer of Jeypore office of the public works department.

“Normally, the pilot is provided with coordinates (inputs) that mention details about the longitude and latitude of the spot where helicopter or plane lands. However, the local civil engineering office provided wrong coordinates which made it difficult for the pilot to locate the spot,” sources added.

Works secretary Nalinikanta Pradhan suspended executive engineer Biranchi Mohanty for sending the wrong coordinates.

Koraput superintendent of police C.S. Meena said there was a little delay in the chief minister’s arrival at Kotpad which will be inquired into.