Dorniers Safe, Claims HAL

The Indian Navy’s Dornier has no safety issues in operations and all customers continue to fly the aircraft.

Following the recent accidents involving Dornier aircraft of the Navy and the Coast Guard, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) chairman T Suvarna Raju, in an interview with Financial Express said that there is no safety issue in operating the Dornier and all customers continue to fly the aircraft.

“Both the accidents are under investigation and causes of the accidents are yet to be established. HAL is also proposing modernization of the Dornier through an engine/propeller change and introduction of new avionics systems,” Raju said.

A Dornier aircraft of the Indian Coast Guard with three personnel onboard went missing in June this year shortly after it took off from Chennai. The debris of the aircraft was found in Bay of Bengal on July 10. All the three personnel onboard died. The aircraft was inducted in the Coast Guard in 2014.

In March, the Navy lost a Dornier surveillance aircraft when it crashed off Goa coast, killing two crew members.

Acquired in late 1990s from HAL, 36 Dornier aircraft are operated by the Navy. 

The Dornier Do 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, manufactured by Dornier GmbH and Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL). At Present, Indian Air Force operates 40 Do 228-201 with a further 14 on order and the Indian Navy operates 25 Do 228-201 and 1 Do 228-101 with a further six on order.