Expecting probe report on Dhruv fleet in 3 weeks: HAL chief DK Sunil

“It was an unfortunate incident … The Dhruv fleet has completed over four lakh hours of flying. The Defect Investigation Team (DIT) is scheduled to submit its report in three weeks. We will further take a call on the clearance,” Sunil added.

On January 5, an Indian Coast Guard ALH Dhruv MK III crashed at Gujarat’s Porbandar Airport, resulting in the deaths of three crew members. In response, HAL directed the temporary grounding of all 330 Dhruv helicopters and launched an investigation, including a technical review of the helicopters.

A committee was formed under Air Marshal Vibhas Pande, a former chief of the Indian Air Force Maintenance Command, to provide inputs on the maintenance of Coast Guard helicopters.

“In the last 25 years, there have been 28 helicopter crashes of which 13 are due to technical reasons, 13 due to human errors and two are unknown. We also had meetings with the Indian Coast Guard to evaluate the maintenance of these helicopters. To the prima facie in the 5 January incident, a fracture was detected in the swash plate of the helicopter. We will take a call on resuming operations of the ALH,” said Sunil.

“We are also looking into the training and maintenance of the personnel who are part of Dhruv fleet,” he added.

ALH Dhruv is operated by all the wings of the Indian military, and positioned as a low-cost alternative to Western multi-utility helicopters.