They were having. But all phones switched off per pilots advice. Security officer switched on his mobile minutes before crash but the Nallamala forrest is very dense and BSNL were to install mobile towers at intervals on war footing and that's how the crash site was located. As per DGCA guide lines, satelite phone is not mandatory fro choppers. It is fate and no one escape from it. For Chandrababu Naidu, chopper snag happened for 17 times and once it was to be landed on the top of a toddy tree.