By Arun Pratap Singh
Gauchar, 31 Aug: An out of service helicopter crashed today when it was dropped in the river while being airlifted for repairs on its way to Gauchar Air strip. It was the same chopper belonging to Crystal Aviation Company which had to make an emergency landing due to technical fault during landing on 24 May 2024 after it had developed a technical snag in its rotor.
This chopper crashed this morning while being airlifted to Gauchar airstrip for repairs by Indian Air Force MI-17 helicopter. While the MI-17 was carrying this chopper by hanging it with the help of ropes, the MI-17 lost its balance. Sensing danger, the pilot of MI-17 dropped the helicopter in Mandakini River when he felt safe to drop the chopper.
District Tourism Officer of Chamoli, Rahul Chaubey reminded that on 24 May 2024, a helicopter of Crystal Aviation Company had to make an emergency landing some distance away from Kedarnath after developing technical fault and the pilot had managed to land safely and save the lives of all the pilgrims. Since then the chopper had been lying in Kedar Valley awaiting repairs or awaiting to be airlifted for repairs. It was planned to take the helicopter to Gauchar airstrip today for repairs, and it was being taken by airlifting it by MI-17 chopper in the morning. However, soon after the take off, the MI-17 chopper stated losing balance due to wind and weight of the damaged helicopter. As a result, the pilot of MI-17 deemed it fit to drop the chopper in a safe place near Tharu camp. There were no passenger or luggage aboard any of the choppers.
It may be recalled that so far, more than a dozen helicopter accidents have happened in Kedarnath. The main reason for helicopter accidents is technical fault and bad weather. In today’s accident, the pilot showed prudence and averted a possible major accident. Actually, soon after the MI-17 took off, the pilot realised that he cannot carry the helicopter for long, so he dropped the helicopter at a safe place.
The chopper of Crystal Aviation Company had made an emergency landing 100 metres before Kedarnath Helipad on 24 May this year after it developed a technical snag. There were 6 passengers aboard the helicopter at that time. But the chopper landed safely.
It may also be pertinent to remind here that after the accident last year, the government had spoken about establishing an air traffic control system to monitor the operation of heli services. Talks regarding this were also held with the Union Civil Aviation Minister but so far this proposal has made no progress. Air traffic control or ATC room in Kedarnath could have been useful in providing timely information about wind direction and pressure. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UKADA) are now making efforts regarding ATC, due to which it is expected that it will be established soon.
