Before this crash, the most recent accident was in 2017, when an MI 17 V5 helicopter crashed in Arunachal Pradesh in which 7 soldiers achieved martyrdom. Even so, these helicopters are one of the most advanced and safest military helicopters. Other than India, the Airforces of more than 50 countries are using these helicopters presently. If the problem isn’t in the equipment, why did it crash?
The second theory was then that perhaps the pilot wasn’t experienced. But this theory doesn’t fit either. Because this helicopter was flown by Wing Commander PS Chauhan. He had become a commissioned officer in 2002. And was promoted to the position of Wing Commander in 2015. Presently, he was the commanding officer of 109 helicopter units in the Airforce Station, Coimbatore.
He was a highly experienced pilot that’s why inexperience cannot be cited as a reason for this crash. The third theory seems to be the most probable. It’s the most likely. Bad weather and hilly surroundings. The helipad on which the helicopter was supposed to land, is at a height of approx 6,000 feet. Surrounded by dense forests and hills. Before we can understand any further, we need to understand some technicalities of a helicopter flight.
While flying a helicopter, there are 2 types of flying rules. First, the Instrument Flight Rules. IFR It basically means to fly the helicopter by relying on the instruments. The machinery in the helicopter and the instruments giving out measurements the helicopter flies based on their information. Most of the civilian helicopter flights are flown under IFR. And it is a very safe way to fly because instead of relying on himself, the pilot relies on the instruments.
But the disadvantage of it is that the helicopter cannot be diverted too much from the set path. Once it is set that the helicopter needs to fly between two points on a certain path, the helicopter would have to fly on that path. The second way is the VFR. Visual Flight Rules. If the helicopter pilot wants freedom to fly over any route, VFR can be used for that. VFR stands for Visual Flight Rules.
Visual because the pilot would need to rely on his eyes, they would have to judge the terrain over which the helicopter is flying. The terrain, the path they take and whether or not there are obstacles in the path. Most of the military helicopters rely on VFR when they fly at low height. Or when they fly in some hilly region where the destination helipad doesn’t have modern equipment little to no equipment for navigation.
General Bipin Rawat’s helicopter was flying under Visual Flight Rules. Clear weather is a must for VFR. It’s recommended that the minimum horizontal visibility should be at least 1.5 km. Meaning they should be able to see 1.5 km ahead. And this becomes problematic when there’re clouds in the sky. Fog, smog, or heavy rains. Visibility can be reduced because of these reasons.
