Jan 11 Saturday, 2025: The Dhruv helicopter fleet remains grounded as of Saturday, January 11, 2025, after the fatalistic clash in Gujarat on January 5, 2025, which led to the death of three crew members. All operators of the ‘Dhruv’ advanced. Advanced light helicopters (ALHs) have been told by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) that the flying of the Indigenous twin-engine choppers should remain suspended until the ‘root cause’ of the accident is clarified.
The crash occurred on January 5 at Porbandar. The investigation of this accident aims to identify whether a technical failure caused the incident, with preliminary analysis showing that the pilots lost control of the helicopter thereto four seconds before the vehicle crashed.
The fleet of Dhruv advanced light helicopters which are around 330 have been temporarily grounded for safety checks which have disrupted operations nationwide. The Coast Guard has initiated a board of inquiry in order to determine the reasons for the crash.
The board focuses on aspects such as the helicopter’s flying controls and transmission systems. There have been some previous incidents related to Dhruv helicopters, such as crashes and emergency landings, that have raised safety and maintenance issues about the fleet.
This grounding has important implications for the Indian armed forces as the helicopters have been crucial to most operations they carry out. Some of the key operations they perform include search and rescue, medical evacuation, and disaster relief. Keep Reading Questiqa India and Questiqa Bharat for more updates.
