Uttarakhand Helicopter Crash: Two Choppers Landed Safely After Fatal Flight, Weather Conditions Under Probe

Two helicopters that took off from Badrinath shortly after the Trans Bharat Aviation chopper crashed in Uttarakhand’s Sthan Marwadi on Friday landed safely at their destinations, raising fresh questions about the circumstances surrounding the accident.

According to officials cited by The Indian Express, one helicopter departed just eight minutes after the ill-fated aircraft, while another took off nearly an hour later. Both completed their journeys safely. Two other helicopters that flew before the Trans Bharat aircraft also reached their destinations without incident.

The sequence of flights is expected to form part of the investigation as authorities examine whether the crash was caused by adverse weather conditions or a combination of factors.

Flying operations in the Badrinath Valley had been suspended for three hours on Friday morning, between 9 am and noon, because of unfavourable weather. Services resumed after conditions improved.

The Trans Bharat Aviation helicopter took off from Dehradun at 12.20 pm and landed in Badrinath at 1.11 pm. Shortly after landing, the pilot picked up five passengers for the return journey to Dehradun. The helicopter crashed during the flight, killing all six people on board.

An official told The Indian Express that the aircraft had completed its onward journey successfully before the accident.

“It was not like the flight was starting from Badrinath; it had already made a successful trip from Dehradun to Badrinath and was going back to Dehradun,” the official said, adding that two helicopters had flown safely before the accident and two more completed their journeys afterwards.

Authorities are now speaking to pilots who operated flights in the region around the time of the crash to establish the weather conditions and identify possible contributing factors.

AAIB Team Begins Investigation

A team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has reached the crash site and begun efforts to recover aircraft components for detailed examination.

Officials said the helicopter wreckage had been almost completely destroyed, with the tail section being the only relatively intact portion.

The aircraft’s black box, which could provide crucial information about the final moments of the flight, had not yet been recovered.

“We have not received the black box yet. The team is at the accident spot. And we are trying to retrieve as many parts as possible to analyse the situation completely,” an official told the newspaper.

The initial Action Taken Report submitted by the Chamoli district administration stated that the helicopter encountered adverse weather conditions in the Hathi Parvat area and crashed while descending towards a lower altitude.

The India Meteorological Department had issued an orange alert for Chamoli on October 30, warning of thunderstorms, lightning, hailstorms and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph in isolated areas.

Investigators are examining whether these weather conditions contributed to the crash or whether other technical or operational factors were involved.

Bodies of All Six Victims Recovered

The bodies of all six victims were recovered during an overnight rescue operation, despite difficult terrain and challenging access to the accident site.

The crash location is approximately 20-22 km from the nearest roadhead and can only be reached through a difficult mountain trek.

Rescue teams brought the bodies from the accident site to a road near Chai village. They were subsequently transported to the Community Health Centre in Jyotirmath.

The district administration is arranging their transportation to Rishikesh, where post-mortem examinations will be conducted before the bodies are handed over to their respective families.

DGCA Makes Co-Pilots Mandatory for Charter Helicopter Flights

In a significant safety measure following the accident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to make co-pilots mandatory for all charter helicopter operations for the remainder of the flying season.

The decision was taken at a meeting held on Saturday to review helicopter operations and safety arrangements.

Officials said single-pilot operations would no longer be permitted for charter helicopter services.

“The DGCA has taken a decision that we will not allow single-pilot operations. It’s a mandatory requirement now. We have set it in stone that a co-pilot will be mandatory for all the charter operations from now on; further investigation into the cause of the accident is underway,” Jain said.

The investigation into Friday’s crash remains underway, with authorities examining flight records, weather conditions, aircraft wreckage and accounts from pilots who operated in the region around the time of the accident.