NEW DELHI:All operators of the `Dhruv’ advanced light helicopters (ALHs) have been told by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) that the flying of the indigenous twin-engine choppers should remain suspended till the “root cause” that led to the Jan 5 crash at Porbandar is established.

The preliminary analysis of the data retrieved from the FDR (flight data recorder) and CVR (cockpit voice recorder) of the ill-fated Coast Guard chopper has shown that the pilots “lost control three to four seconds” before the crash, an official told TOI.

ALH Mark-III , inducted from the HAL in June 2021, had completed a 90-minute training sortie, with the crew undertaking “running change” for the next sortie. The 5.5-tonne chopper was hovering at 200-feet when it “failed to respond to the pilots’ control inputs” and then nose-dived into the ground and burst into flames.
The two pilots, Commandant Saurabh and deputy commandant S K Yadav, and air crew diver Manoj Pradhan Navik, were killed in the crash. The Coast Guard had lost another two pilots and an aircrew diver when their ALH had also crashed into the Arabian Sea during a medical evacuation operation from Porbandar in Sept last year.

The armed forces have temporarily grounded all their 330 ALHs for safety checks after Sunday’s crash, as was first reported by TOI. The entire ALH fleet had also been grounded two-three times for systematic technical checks in 2023 after four major crashes. “There have also been some cases of power loss and failure of gear boxes reported in the ALHs in recent months,” another officer said.

This troubling safety record has led to calls for a comprehensive investigation, with independent experts in the committee, into the several issues plaguing the helicopters. “These groundings of ALHs, which are the workhorses of the armed forces, are happening far too often. It adversely impacts day-to-day operations,” an experienced helicopter pilot said.

“Nothing should be brushed under the carpet now. HAL should resolve all problems,” he added. HAL, in turn, said it “remains committed to the fast-track determination of the root cause of the latest crash and ensuring an early resumption of safe flying operations”.

“An expert HAL team is at Porbandar examining all the evidence, while a Coast Guard board of inquiry is also underway. The way forward will be decided soon,” an official said.

After the crashes in 2023, the HAL had undertaken safety technical upgrades after cases of design and metallurgical flaws, including “failure of the collective”, which controls the power to the rotors and back, were reported in the multi-mission choppers, as reported by TOI earlier.