that killed seven people near
Kedarnath on Sunday, the Civil Aviation Ministry suspended the operations of
Aryan Aviation for the
Char Dham Yatra. The Aryan Aviation chopper had taken off from Kedarnath at 5:30 am and was headed for Guptkashi when it lost contact shortly after take-off. The aircraft went down near the Gauri Mai Khark forests above Gaurikund in the narrow and mountainous Kedarghati region.
"Two helicopters belonging to TransBharat Aviation — VT-TBC (PIC: Capt. Yogesh Grewal, CPL(H)-1453) and VT-TBF (PIC: Capt. Jitender Harjai, CPL(H)-1046) — were found to have been airborne under similar unsuitable weather conditions. Accordingly, the licenses of both pilots have been suspended for six months.," the Civil Aviation Ministry statement said.
The incident also prompted the
Uttarakhand government to suspend helicopter services for two days and initiate major safety reviews for mountain aviation operations.
Preliminary investigations identified dense fog and zero visibility as the primary reasons behind the crash. "The helicopter is believed to have flown into dense fog, drastically reducing pilot visibility and contributing to a loss of control," Rudraprayag district disaster management officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said.
Inspector General (Garhwal Range) Rajiv Swaroop said that the site of the crash was a very remote area. Officials said the narrow mountainous terrain of the Kedarghati region further limited the pilot’s ability to maneuver. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced a strict Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for helicopter services operations in the state after the incident. As per the SOP, a complete check of technical conditions of the helicopters and accurate weather information before flights should be made mandatory, an official release from the chief minister's office said.
Dhami has also instructed the Chief Secretary to constitute a committee of technical experts to prepare the SOP after a thorough review of all technical and safety aspects of the helicopter operations. The committee shall also ensure the safe and transparent operation of helicopter services as per the SOP.
The CM has also directed the committee to investigate the previous helicopter accidents as well as the Gaurikund helicopter crash in the state. Furthermore, the committee will also identify the guilty people or institutions behind the accidents, if any and also recommend strict action against them.
"The importance of the helicopter services in the state is immense for pilgrimage, disaster management and emergency services, hence safety needs to be given a top priority in this," the Chief Minister said.
This was the fifth chopper-related incident along the Char Dham yatra route in the last six weeks.
