A paramotor tripe used for search and rescue operation in disaster-affected tough terrains, made an emergency stop near Hotel Solitaire in Mothrowala, after it developed a technical snag. Officials said there were few drops of water in petrol. The tripe took off from the police line for a trial trip before leaving for search operation in tough terrains.
It may be mentioned that the paramotor, also known as powered paragliding, was sent by Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangama after having a discussion with his disaster-hit Uttarakhand counterpart Vijay Bahuguna to help in the rescued operation. The foldable tripe was dismantled and transported from Meghalaya by road to the police line, Dehradun, where it reached on Tuesday evening. The crew members led by pilot Nikoli Singh reassembled the tripe in the morning and took off for trial round. Few minutes after taking off, the tripe developed technical snag as water comprises petrol. The trike’s engine stopped functioning, forcing the pilot for emergency landing.
The pilot landed in a field in Mothrowala area. Mohammad Ishaque, maintenance technician of the trike, said, “The tripe’s engine suddenly turned off in the air as there were few drops of water in petrol purchased from a local petrol pump. As water drops reached the engine, it turned off. The pilot immediately landed the tripe in the field.”
He informed that the fact came to the light when he checked the engine and petrol tank. The crew members removed the petrol that had some drops of water from the tank and refilled it with fresh liters of petrol. The tripe’s engine started functioning. Ishaque said, “The tripe can fly 3 hours nonstop from 50 liters of petrol. It is very economic and fly as high as 18,000 feet. It can also fly at a height of 10 feet. Its maintenance cost is also low as compared to other flying machines. It can be dismantled for transportation.” He said cost of the tripe stood between Rs 18 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.