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Uttarkashi chopper crash: AAIB preliminary report says pilot tried emergency landing, rotor hit overhead cable
Probe agency AAIB said that the helicopter began to descend from its assigned altitude around 20 minutes after takeoff.
Dehradun: The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) in its preliminary report on the chopper crash in Uttarkashi district on May 8 said that the chopper struck an overhead fibre cable with its main rotor while attempting an emergency landing.
The Bell 407 helicopter belonging to Aerotrans Services Pvt Ltd was en route from Kharsali helipad (Yamunotri) to Jhala helipad (Gangotri) when it went down near the Gangnani area of Uttarkashi district at 8.35 am, killing six people onboard.
According to the AAIB report, the helicopter had been airborne for approximately 20 minutes before it began descending from its assigned altitude.
The 59-year-old pilot, who had 6160 hours of flying experience, attempted to make an emergency landing on the Uttarkashi–Gangotri road near Gangnani. However, its main rotor blade hit an overhead fibre cable running parallel to the road, leading to the crash
"The aircraft failed to land and subsequently tumbled down the hillside, eventually coming to rest against a tree roughly 250 feet into a gorge," the report said.
The report further said National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), USA and Transportation Safety Board (TSB), Canada have appointed official representatives and technical advisors to assist with the investigation of the crash.
"The investigation team is working closely with them to decide the next steps needed to find out the exact cause of the crash. Records obtained from various stakeholders are currently being scrutinized.," it said.
The Uttarkashi chopper crash was one of the five chopper incidents on the Char Dham route in six weeks, with the latest being a chopper crash in Kedarnath region on June 15 that killed all seven people aboard, including a two-year-old girl.
After the June 15 crash, the Uttarakhand government constituted a committee to prepare standard operative procedure (SOP) for operation of helicopters in the state. The committee, chaired by home secretary Shailesh Bagauli, will submit its recommendations to the state government by August 15 to prevent chopper accidents in the future.
The crash highlighted growing safety concerns over helicopter operations serving the Char Dham pilgrimage route, which includes four sacred Hindu temples in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. The routes see tens of thousands of pilgrims annually, many using helicopters to navigate the treacherous mountain terrain.
Despite that, a chopper belonging to Heritage Aviation flew for Kedarnath from Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun on July 14 at around 5.15 pm ignoring bad weather warning. Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) has ordered a probe into the matter.
