The Indian Air Force’s latest light combat helicopters (LCH), which inherit several features of the ALH, were also grounded, the officials said. Most of the military’s ALHs are currently grounded for comprehensive checks after the string of accidents. These rods allow pilots to control the helicopter’s motion, and any failure can severely affect power input to the rotor blades and cause accidents. The helicopter is operated by the army, air force, navy, and coast guard.ĬEMILAC, which functions under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), reached the conclusion that the design review of the booster control rods is mandatory after an expert committee, formed in the backdrop of a navy ALH ditching (emergency landing in water) into the Arabian Sea on March 8, explored the possible failures that led to the incident, the officials said. The army grounded its ALH fleet for a comprehensive safety check after a helicopter crash-landed in Jammu & Kashmir’s Kishtwar on May 4, killing a soldier and injuring the two pilots. In the past five years, it has been involved in 12 accidents. The call for the design review comes on the back of the ALH’s troubling safety record. It has ordered the design review of a “safety-critical system” on board the India-made helicopter by an expert panel to improve its airworthiness even though the helicopter has a stable and mature design, officials familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, asking not to be identified. The Bengaluru-based Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) wrote to the three services and the coast guard about this on April 23.

A design review of a “safety-critical system” of the Dhruv advanced light helicopter, involved in a string of accidents including one last week, may be in order, according to a top government regulatory body responsible for the certification of the airworthiness of military aircraft.

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