In a first, LCA naval variant lands on warship deck
Bengaluru, Aug 2 : The Light Combat Aircraft's (LCA) naval variant landed on the deck of warship INS Hansa in Goa, said its maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) on Thursday.
"LCA Navy (NP2) undertakes maiden taxi-in engagement to prove arrestor hook system of aircraft at sea-bed test facility Goa," tweeted Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
"This is the first of a series of engagements planned to prove the arrestor hook capability of the combat fighter," said HAL Chairman T. Suvarna Raju.
The achievement pushes India into a select club of the US, Europe, Russia and China in having the capability of deck-landing by a fighter aircraft.
"Piloted by Captain Shivnath Dahiya, the LCA naval prototype (NP-2) landed safely on the deck of INS Hansa at the naval shore-based test facility in Goa," said state-run defence behemoth HAL.
The maiden feat involved the pilot making contact of the arrester hook system with the arresting wire at moderate taxi-in speed on the location at the test facility.
The first taxi-in engagement was monitored by the landing signal officer Commodore J.A. Maolankar and test director Group Captain A. Kabadwal (Retd).
The city-based aerospace major's design wing, Aircraft Research and Design Centre, developed the arrestor hook system for ship-deck operations of LCA naval version.
The LCA naval prototype was integrated with the hook system and has been operating at INS Hansa since July 28 after the landing system was verified in-air operation in Bengaluru on July 23.
The naval air station has a 14-degree ramp along with testing sensors and other equipment to monitor the flights.
The prototype's carrier compatibility trials are slated at shore-based test facilities, built at the Indian naval base in Goa on the West Coast.
The evaluation involves shore-based trials before embarking on actual deck of an aircraft carrier like INS Vikramaditya for LCA Navy next year.
State-run Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), the military aircraft's airworthiness certifying agency Cemilac and the Indian Navy worked together for the maiden deck landing.
A series of trials are planned which will involve landing, refuelling and take-off from an aircraft carrier near the West Coast after a slew of ground tests at higher speeds.
The single-jet engine Tejas is the smallest and lightest multirole supersonic fighter aircraft of its class. The tandem twin-seater aircraft is integrated with avionics and flight controls for ground runs and taxi trials.
The naval variant can also be deployed on the second indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, being built at the Cochin Shipyard.
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Two women died, 6 taken ill after ‘consuming’ mango kernel gruel in Odisha
Bhubaneswar/Berhampur/Phulbani, Nov 1: At least two tribal women died and six others fell ill after allegedly consuming mango kernel gruel in Odisha's Kandhamal district, police said on Friday.
Consumption of mango kernel, prepared by boiling the seeds in water, was reported from Mandipanka village in the district's Daringbadi block, an officer said.
While one of the two women (Rasmita Pattamajhi aged 22) died on Thursday night at Mohana community health centre in Gajapati district where she was undergoing treatment after "consuming the gruel", another woman (Runu Majhi aged 29) breathed her last while being taken to MKCG Medical College Hospital in Berhampur, Gadapur sarpanch Kumari Mallick said.
Six others, who fell ill after allegedly consuming the gruel, were admitted to a hospital and their condition was critical, said Dr Subrat Das, a medical officer of the health facility.
"All the six have been admitted to the hospital in a serious condition. We suspected that they fell sick due to food poisoning. The exact cause of the illness will be ascertained after completion of the investigation," he added.
The six were identified as Pravati Patmajhi, Dranglu Patmajhi, Tuni Majhi, Susama Patmajhi, Jita Majhi and Jibanti Majhi, Daringbadi BDO Pritiranjan Ratha said.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has rejected allegations that tribal people have been consuming mango kernel gruel due to a lack of access to rice under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Rasmita's husband Anil Pattamajhi alleged that they were denied rice under PDS for the last three months because of which his wife consumed mango kernel.
However, Kandhamal district magistrate-cum-collector Amrit Ruturaj dismissed the allegations, saying the family received rice according to PDS norms. "We are awaiting the postmortem report to determine the facts," the collector added.
Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, who is also in-charge of the women and child development department said, "It is not a case of malnutrition. Mango kernel is part of their (tribal) regular diet. Sometime, the mango kernels get contaminated and lead to such unfortunate incidents. We have been actively spreading awareness about the risks of food contamination."
Health and family welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling, who ordered a departmental inquiry into the death of two tribal women, said a team from the district headquarters hospital and another local team are at the spot to assess the situation and conduct a detailed probe into the incident.
Mahaling said that the government was waiting for the postmortem report for a confirmation on the cause of the deaths. "People in Kandhamal consume mango kernel. It is common in that region and there also have been reports of health complications linked to it in the past," he said.
The Kandhmal incident reminds a similar tragedy involving mango kernel deaths in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, where at least 20 people died in 2001, and two more succumbed to mango kernel consumption in 2016. Additionally, mango kernel has claimed lives in Laxmipur in Koraput district in 2012 and 2013, as well as in Jharigaon in Nabarangpur district in 2018.
