2021 Indian Air Force Mil Mi-17 crash explained

2021 Indian Air Force Mi-17 crash
Image Upright:1.15
Summary:Controlled flight into terrain, due to weather-related spatial disorientation[1] [2]
Occurrence Type:Accident
Site:Nanjappachatiram, Bandishola panchayat, Coonoor taluk, Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, India
Origin:Sulur Air Force Station, Tamil Nadu, India
Destination:Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupants:14[3]
Passengers:10
Crew:4
Fatalities:14
Survivors:0 (1 initially)
Aircraft Type:Mil Mi-17V-5
Tail Number:ZP 5164

On 8 December 2021, a Mil Mi-17V-5 transport helicopter operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed between Coimbatore and Wellington in the state of Tamil Nadu, after departing from Sulur Air Force Station. The helicopter was carrying Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and 13 others, including his wife and staff. Everyone on board was killed in the immediate aftermath, except Group Captain Varun Singh, who died from his injuries at a hospital a week later.[4]

Aircraft and crew

The Russian-built[5] Mil Mi-17 medium-lift helicopter was one of the first batch of 80 of its type built for the IAF under the terms of a 2008 contract.[6] Delivered to the IAF in 2011 and inducted into service in 2012,[7] the helicopter had flown over 26 hours without incident since its most recent servicing.[8]

Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan, the commanding officer of 109 Helicopter Unit, was the pilot in command, with co-pilot Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh and two junior warrant officers comprising the rest of the crew.[9]

Accident

The passengers had boarded the flight around 11:45 a.m. local time (IST). At 11:48 a.m. local time, the helicopter took off with 10 passengers and 4 crew members from Sulur Air Force Station, headed roughly 80km (50miles) to the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) in Wellington, Tamil Nadu.[10] General Rawat, his wife and his staff were travelling to the DSSC, where Rawat was to address the college's faculty and student officers.[11] The flight was scheduled to arrive at Wellington by 12:15 p.m. Shortly before losing contact with the Sulur Air force base at 12:08 p.m., the pilots had radioed air traffic control to confirm their imminent landing at the Wellington helipad. The aircraft then crashed near a residential colony of private tea estate employees on the outskirts of the hamlet of Nanjappachatiram, Bandishola panchayat, in the Katteri-Nanchappanchathram area of Coonoor taluk, Nilgiris district.[12] [13] The crash site was 10km (10miles) from the flight's intended destination.[14] [15]

According to an eyewitness, he saw "the helicopter coming down ... it hit one tree and was on fire. There were plumes of smoke" when he ran over. "In minutes, the fire was higher" than his house.[16] Villagers threw water over the fire in attempt to put it out.[17] Initial reports of the crash emerged around 12:20 p.m., with a search-and-rescue operation launched at 12:25 p.m. The IAF officially confirmed General Rawat's presence on the flight in a tweet sent at 1:53 p.m.[18] Rescue operations continued until 3:25 p.m. Fire and Rescue Services personnel who managed to reach the crash site after some difficulty, as the site was 500 meters from a major road, reported the crash victims had been burnt beyond recognition.

Casualties

The ten passengers on board the flight included Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, liaison officer Group Captain Varun Singh, SC and the general's personal staff, comprising his defence assistant Brigadier Lakhbinder Singh Lidder, Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh, Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan, Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, Junior Warrant Officer Rana Pratap Das, Junior Warrant Officer Arakkal Pradeep, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, Lance Naik B. Sai Teja, Havildar Satpal Rai, Naik Gursewak Singh and Naik Jitendra Kumar.[19] Following the crash, the IAF released statements at 18:03 confirming the death of 13 of the 14 people on board, including General Rawat and his wife.[20] [21] [22] As of 21:30 local time, all 13 of the bodies had been recovered from the crash site.[23]

An instructor at the DSSC, Group Captain Varun Singh, was the initial survivor of the crash, and was taken to the military hospital in Wellington, Tamil Nadu, for surgery.[24] [25] Having sustained burns over 45% of his body, he was transferred to the Command Hospital in Bengaluru for further treatment on life support.[26] He died from his injuries on 15 December 2021.[27]

Aftermath

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on the evening of the disaster to decide on a further course of action. The Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh made a formal announcement in Parliament of India on 9 December regarding the incident.[28] The Opposition suspended its protests in Parliament for one day as a tribute to those who lost their lives in the crash.[29]

Investigation

The flight data recorder was recovered on the morning of 9 December.[30] A tri-service court of inquiry was established by the Indian Air Force, headed by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh, the AOC-in-C Training Command.[31] Early in January 2022, anonymous defence officials attached to the team indicated that the inquiry was complete and the probable cause of the accident was Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT), which occurs when the pilot is in full control of the aircraft but due to faulty situational awareness the aircraft strikes the terrain. The chopper was reportedly flying at a low altitude when it entered a rolling cloud cover that drastically reduced visibility. In the process of trying to fly out of the cloud cover, it hit a cliff and crashed.[32] [33]

On 14 January 2022, the court of inquiry's preliminary findings were officially made public. It termed the accident "a result of entry into clouds due to unexpected change in weather conditions", which "led to spatial disorientation of the pilot resulting in Controlled Flight into Terrain". The court ruled out any mechanical failure, sabotage or negligence to be a cause of the accident.[34] [35] [36]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: . 15 January 2022 . Pilot disorientation due to weather change led to CDS chopper crash: Court of Inquiry. The Indian Express . 14 January 2022.
  2. News: Banerjee . Ajay . 9 December 2021 . CDS chopper crash: No distress call, ATC contacted to confirm landing in 7 minutes . The Tribune . 10 December 2021.
  3. Web site: 8 December 2021. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, wife among 13 killed in chopper crash. 8 December 2021. The Economic Times. en.
  4. Web site: Group Captain Varun Singh, Injured In Chopper Crash, Dies In Hospital. 15 December 2021. NDTV.com.
  5. Web site: India: Military chief, 12 others die in helicopter crash. live. 8 December 2021. Deutsche Welle. en-GB. https://web.archive.org/web/20211208132524/https://www.dw.com/en/india-military-chief-12-others-die-in-helicopter-crash/a-60053608 . 8 December 2021 .
  6. News: Chhina . Man Aman Singh . 9 December 2021 . Explained: The helicopter CDS Bipin Rawat was in . The Indian Express . 8 December 2021.
  7. News: . 8 December 2021 . CDS Rawat chopper crash: Mi17V5 is advanced transport helicopter with IAF since 2012 . The Tribune . 10 December 2021.
  8. News: Mukul . Pranav. Chhina . Man Aman Singh . 9 December 2021 . Advanced and robust chopper; weather could have been crash factor . The Indian Express . 8 December 2021.
  9. News: . 8 December 2021 . India's top military officer, CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, dies in Tamil Nadu helicopter crash. India Today . 8 December 2021.
  10. News: M. . Saravanan. Sundar. P. S. . 8 December 2021 . First Chief of Defence Bipin Rawat, 12 others killed in chopper crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor . The New Indian Express . 8 December 2021.
  11. News: Singh . Rahul . General Rawat, his wife and 11 others killed in IAF chopper crash . 9 December 2021 . Hindustan Times . Hindustan_Times_singh.
  12. News: M. . Saravanan. 8 December 2021 . Coonoor helicopter mishap: 'One of the injured men asked for water', recount eyewitnesses . The New Indian Express . 8 December 2021.
  13. News: Saravanan . M.. 8 December 2021 . Sulur chopper tragedy: 'Never seen anything this tragic', say Coonoor fire and rescue personnel . The New Indian Express . 8 December 2021.
  14. Web site: Madhav. Pramod . 8 December 2021. CDS General Bipin Rawat's chopper crashes in Tamil Nadu. 8 December 2021. India Today. en.
  15. Web site: 8 December 2021. IAF copter goes down: From crash location to where Gen Bipin Rawat was heading, here's what we know. 8 December 2021. Firstpost. en.
  16. Web site: News9 Staff. 8 December 2021. CDS Bipin Rawat's death: 'Chopper was flying low and hit trees,' say eyewitnesses. 10 December 2021. NEWS9LIVE. en. 10 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211210090350/https://www.news9live.com/india/chopper-was-flying-low-and-hit-trees-eyewitnesses-recall-chopper-crash-that-killed-cds-bipin-rawat-139200. dead.
  17. News: 8 December 2021. Bipin Rawat: India's top general dies in helicopter crash. en-GB. BBC News. 8 December 2021.
  18. News: . 8 December 2021 . CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, wife, 11 others die in IAF chopper crash: Timeline of events. India Today . 8 December 2021.
  19. News: Singh . Rahul . 8 December 2021 . General Rawat, his wife and 11 others killed in IAF chopper crash . The Hindustan Times . 8 December 2021.
  20. Indian Air Force . Indian Air Force . IAF_MCC . 1468559355868028936. With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident..
  21. Web site: 8 December 2021. 8 December 2021. CDS chopper crash: 13 of 14 personnel on-board confirmed dead. ANI News. en.
  22. News: Chopper Crash: IAF confirms the death of CDS Bipin Rawat, wife and 11 others . The Probe. 10 December 2021.
  23. Indian Air Force . Indian Air Force . IAF_MCC . 1468496444063576065. An IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter, with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat on board, met with an accident today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. An Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident..
  24. News: Noronha . Rehul . 8 December 2021 . Sole survivor of IAF chopper crash has family serving in all three services of armed forces. India Today . 8 December 2021.
  25. Indian Air Force . Indian Air Force . IAF_MCC . 1468559358275436550. Gp Capt Varun Singh SC, Directing Staff at DSSC with injuries is currently under treatment at Military Hospital, Wellington..
  26. News: Bhalla. Abhishek . 9 December 2021 . Chopper crash survivor Varun Singh airlifted to Bengaluru . India Today . 9 December 2021.
  27. News: Bureau. The Hindu. 15 December 2021. Lone survivor of chopper crash, Group Captain Varun Singh succumbs to injuries. en-IN. The Hindu. 16 December 2021. 0971-751X.
  28. Web site: Sinha. Shreya. 9 December 2021. Read full statement of Rajnath Singh in Parliament on IAF chopper crash. India Today.
  29. Web site: Sinha. Shreya. 9 December 2021. Opposition suspends protest in Parliament for the day in tribute to CDS Gen Rawat, others. India Today.
  30. News: . 9 December 2021. Black box of crashed helicopter recovered. The Tribune. 9 December 2021.
  31. News: . 9 December 2021. Air Marshal Manvendra Singh to head tri-service inquiry into IAF chopper crash: Rajnath Singh. India Today. 9 December 2021.
  32. News: Peri. Dinakar. 1 January 2022. Disorientation of crew in poor weather likely cause of crash. en-IN. The Hindu. 1 January 2022. 0971-751X.
  33. News: Times News Network. 6 January 2022. CDS crash inquiry: 'Loss of situational awareness' by pilots. The Times of India. 18 January 2022.
  34. Web site: Ministry of Defence. 14 January 2022. PRELIMINARY FINDINGS OF COI: HELICOPTER ACCIDENT ON 08 DEC 2021. live. 18 January 2022. Press Information Bureau. https://web.archive.org/web/20220114133459/https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1789972 . 14 January 2022 .
  35. Web site: Scroll Staff. Pilot 'disorientation' caused Bipin Rawat's helicopter to crash, says inquiry panel. 14 January 2022. Scroll.in. 14 January 2022 . en-US.
  36. News: Singh. Rahul. 14 January 2022. Pilot's disorientation in bad weather led to CDS Bipin Rawat chopper crash: IAF. The Hindustan Times. 18 January 2022.

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