Black box of crashed Pawan Hans chopper sent to France

The chopper crashed on January 13, killing seven people – five ONGC staff and two pilots -- on board.

The investigation report on the Pawan Hans helicopter crash, which was expected in a week, will only come next month.

The chopper crashed on January 13, killing seven people – five ONGC staff and two pilots -- on board. (FILE)

The chopper crashed on January 13, killing seven people – five ONGC staff and two pilots -- on board.

According to Pawan Hans officials, who are part of the investigating team, the black box was taken to Delhi to find out the exact cause of the incident. “A team from France was in the city to decode the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR), but they couldn’t do it,” said a Pawan Hans official.

The device was then handed over to a team from Airbus -- the helicopter’s manufacturers -- in Delhi, who have taken it to France for decoding. “Once decoded, there will be clarity on the situation before the crash. This will help us understand what caused the incident,” said the official.

Senior officials from the ministry said the preliminary accident report was submitted to the Prime Minister’s office last week.

A team from AAIB will also continue with the investigation. Sanjay Kumar, general manager, Pawan Hans, said a team will come to Mumbai to study the wreckage. “Various angles are being looked at. The doubt on technical issues, if any, will be cleared after the team in France will complete decoding the black box of the helicopter,” said another Pawan Hans official.

In the past, investigation agencies have never released a preliminary report. The final report usually takes over a year. “If released as promised, this will be the first such instance,” the official said.