In the midst of accusations by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Congress leaders held a "secret meeting" with some Pakistani officials a few days ago, it has now come to light that the seaplane used by him on Tuesday, 12 December, to take off from the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad, was "near Karachi" on 3 December before it flew into Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji airport at 7:45 pm that evening.
Other than the flight path and origins of the plane, there are few other questions regarding the seaplane that the government will have to answer like were security norms breached when the particular aircraft was requisitioned?
The Kodiak 100 aircraft belongs to Utah-based Quest Aircraft Company which was “founded in the Pacific Northwest”. The company, in turn is operated by a Japanese plane-maker, even as the aircraft is currently owned by the Bank of Utah. The registration number of the aircraft – N181KQ – indicates it is registered in the US.
Small aircraft industry sources revealed that only the ferrying between Ahmedabad and Dharoi and back would have cost the BJP (or the government?) $70,000 (around Rs 42 lakh). But what is even more shocking is that the Prime Minister’s security establishment allowed Modi to board a single-engine aircraft, which in itself is a huge security breach.
IAF sources said that most helicopters used by the Prime Minister are twin-engine, besides being armoured plated, and they could have been used instead of the Kodiak 100.
The Plane’s Journey to India
After reaching Mumbai on 3 December, the aircraft flew to Vajj in Gujarat before returning to Juhu on 7 December. It landed at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport in Ahmedabad at 12:04 pm on 11 December, all ready to fly out with Modi for the show on the waters of the Sabarmati river and the dam at Dharoi in north Gujarat.
Inquiries into this particular aircraft’s history revealed that before Karachi, it was in or near Muscat on 25 October, at Darwin which is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airbase on 22 October, in Bali the same day, Norfolk Island on 20 October and at Ardmore and Auckland in New Zealand also on 20 October.
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