NEW DELHI: The entire fleet of around 330 ‘Dhruv’ advanced light helicopters (ALHs) in the armed forces has been temporarily grounded for safety checks after the crash of the Coast Guard chopper at Porbandar on Sunday, which killed the two pilots and an aircrew diver, even as a senior team from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is now at the site to investigate the incident.
Several senior military officers and experts told TOI that it’s “high time” that a top-level comprehensive investigation is conducted into “issues” dogging the indigenous twin-engine 5.5-tonne ALHs, which are the workhorses of the armed forces as well as crucial for self-reliance in defence production.
“The probe committee should include independent experts. Precious lives are being lost (four Coast Guard pilots and two divers have died in two ALH crashes in the last four months) but HAL is providing sub-optimal or quick-fix solutions to problems,” an experienced chopper pilot said.
Another military officer added, “All issues with the ALHs, including design/manufacturing defects, quality control, servicing, maintenance, training of pilots and technicians, should be thoroughly analyzed.”
HAL, contacted by TOI, did not comment on the matter. The ALH fleet had also been grounded two-three times for systematic technical checks in 2023 after four major crashes. The Army then had around 180 ALHs, which included 60 weaponized versions called ‘Rudras’, while IAF had 75, Navy 24 and Coast Guard 19. HAL had then undertaken safety technical upgrades after cases of design and metallurgical flaws, including “failure of the collective”, which controls the power to the rotors and back, were reported in the multi-mission choppers, as reported by TOI earlier.
