Mi-17V5- ADVANCED & ROBUST BUT WHY CRASHED?
By The Space
NATION: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said a tri-service inquiry has been ordered by the Indian Air Force, headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, into the helicopter crash incident on Wednesday which killed 13 people, including Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat.
Experts claim that the Mi-17V5 is an advanced and robust chopper that is not just used in India but in other nations as well, the reason for the crash is being speculated as due to bad weather conditions, but its real cause is yet to be deciphered and the question pertaining to its robust built quality keeps coming from across the country.
According to India Today, the Choppers black box has been collected and the cause for the tragic crash shall be investigated further.
The final rites shall be performed with full military honours, after positively investigating the bodies, as per Hindustan Times, the situation seemed tough to identify the bodies of the deceased, however as of now the identification has been almost complete, by 7:30 PM, the mortal remains shall be brought to New Delhi.
All 13 bodies are being brought in an Indian Air Force C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft from Sulur to Delhi. IAF Chief has already left for Delhi from there. Four bodies including that of Gen Rawat, his wife and Brig LS Lidder have been positively identified: Source TOI.
ABOUT THE AIRCRAFT
The Russia-made chopper Mi-17 V5 is a trusted aircraft used for all dignitary movements, including the prime minister. The Mi-17 V5 is top-of-a-line series. The last batch of the chopper was delivered to India in 2018.
Equipped with modern avionics, the helicopter is capable of operating in any geographical and climatic conditions, day and night, along with adverse weather situations.
SPECULATED REASONS FOR ITS CRASH
According to a report in The Hindu, an eyewitness who saw the helicopter crash and a police officer who reached the site said the weather was clear and there were no clouds.
The eyewitness was heard saying – I saw that the helicopter was flying at a very low altitude. Suddenly it turned and collided with a jackfruit tree. After that, there was a loud explosion. The weather was clear when the helicopter crashed.
Questions are being raised that why was the helicopter flying at such a low altitude? Did the pilot have any weather alerts from Air Traffic Control or Army Control? Tamil Nadu Police officials have told the newspaper that the entire matter is being investigated.
The newspaper had written in its report that the helicopter crash of the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh YS Rajasekhara Reddy took place in the mountainous area of Kurnool. The weather was bad then, yet the pilot was pressured to fly. The newspaper has written that no lessons have been learned from the accidents of the past.
The poor judgment displayed by pilots was a key cause identified by the four-member committee. They encountered a snag in the transmission of oil pressure. They (pilots) got so engaged in the emergency checklist to fix the issue for a vital six minutes that they “lost situational awareness of the extremely bad weather ahead.”
However, a report said, “The Committee in the present case could not find any evidence/indication wherein (the) VIP interfered/influenced the flight planning/progression”.
However, the actual reasons for its crash shall be out only after a proper inquiry by the team of the Indian Air Force, headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh is completed.
More Updates awaited
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