A viral video purportedly of the Mi-17V5 chopper that crashed on Wednesday and the flight data recorder recovered from the site may hold key details to the sequence of events leading to the mishap that killed 13 of the 14 people aboard, including India’s Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat. The clip shot by locals ostensibly shows the helicopter flying at a low altitude. It immediately hits a puff of clouds and crashes within seconds with a loud thud.
While a tri-service inquiry has been ordered into the incident, experienced helicopter pilots said the footage clearly shows that bad weather and clouding could be the major reason for the crash. The government has so far not denied the authenticity of the video.
Group Captain Nitin Welde (retd), a former helicopter pilot of the Indian Air Force, told News18 that the video—which has been shared widely on social media—ostensibly shows the helicopter entering into a thick cloud and probably crashing after a few seconds.
“From the video, it looks like the helicopter was travelling at a low speed. As is seen in the video, it entered into clouds and is no longer visible after that. There seems to be a change in the noise of the helicopter from beginning to middle of that video," he said.
The former helicopter instructor said that the chopper flying without visual references of the ground below is extremely challenging.
“When in the clouds, you are unaware of the terrain—including the hills, wires, trees. This lack of visual reference can prove dangerous in all situations," he said. “In what altitude and to which object the ill-fated helicopter hit will be ascertained by the inquiry team. They will have evidence of parts of the helicopter spread over that area and that will give reference of how it must have impacted."
Commander KP Sanjeev Kumar, former naval aviator and an experimental test pilot, explained that Coonoor for the most part has lovely weather with clear visibility and sparkling skies.
“However, during the winter season, low drifting clouds, fog and mist often roll in unannounced, reducing visibility that can push ‘see and avoid’ VFR (visual flight rules) flights into peril. Also, technical issues, if any, can impose dangers due to hilly terrain and/or reduced performance," he told News18.
He added that flights under VFR have to keep ground in contact and ensure minimum horizontal visibility of 1.5km.
“So, if there is a likelihood of not maintaining these parameters, it is best to divert or force-land. But this may not be possible in the hills due to the nature of the terrain and the climb gradients required," he said, adding that the black box has been recovered, so the exact picture will be clear in the coming days.
Another senior helicopter pilot of the IAF told News18 that choppers don’t take flight when the weather is completely down but pilots tend to take chances when there is marginal clouding.
“Visual flying requires the pilots to be in sight of the terrain, all through the duration of the flight. This means if there is clouding, the helicopter needs to fly below the level of clouding," he said. “But in this video, it looks like the pilot, despite flying low, was not ‘visual with the terrain’ at the time of impact."
He further explained that while landing on helipads, especially in the hills, there are no navigational or landing aids, as compared to bigger runways.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament that the helicopter was scheduled to land in Wellington by 12.15pm on December 8, but the air traffic control at Sulur airbase lost contact with the chopper at around 12.08pm.
Subsequently, a few locals spotted a fire in the forest near Coonoor and rushed to the spot where they observed the wreckage of the military helicopter engulfed in flames, even as rescue teams tried to recover the survivors from the crash site, Singh said.
He said the tri-service inquiry into the mishap ordered by the IAF will be headed by Manvendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command.
Such was the impact of the crash that so far the positive identification of mortal remains of only Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika and Brig LS Lidder has been possible. The bodies would be released to their next of kin for the final rites.
The process for positive identification of the other Army and IAF personnel is underway.
The lone survivor of the crash, Group Captain Varun Singh, remains critical, and was shifted to the Command Hospital, Bengaluru, on Thursday evening.
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