New Delhi: The Indian Army has temporarily grounded its fleet of Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv as a “precautionary measure” following the May 4 accident in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar that killed a soldier, defense officials said. was killed and two others were injured. An ALH pole with three people on board crashed after a “hard landing” in Kishtwar. A technician was killed and two pilots were injured in the incident.
“In view of the accident in which an Army jawan lost his life on May 4, the operation of ALH Dhruv helicopters by the force has been stopped as a precautionary measure,” defense officials told news agency ANI.
ALH Dhruv out for the second time in two months
Notably, this is the second time in the last two months that the chopper fleet has been grounded for checking. In March, a Dhruv helicopter of the Navy had crashed during a routine sortie over Mumbai. The three-man aircrew was not injured. Another accident occurred in Kochi in April when a Coast Guard helicopter made a crash landing during a trial run.
The Navy and Coast Guard had grounded their respective ALH Dhruv fleets following the incidents involving the platform.
According to sources in news agency PTI, the ALH Dhruv helicopters are undergoing technical checks with the Navy and Coast Guard. The helicopters which have got the green signal in the verification process are now flying. The Indian Air Force operates approximately 70 ALH Dhruv.
ALH Dhruv is a mainstay of the Indian Army
The ALH Dhruv is the mainstay of the Indian Army which flies them extensively in high altitude and other operational areas. In total, the defense forces operate around 300 Dhruv helicopters, which have been designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
The Army Aviation Corps uses various variants of these helicopters, including the Rudra Weapon System Integrated version. The grounding of choppers will affect operations as military movements had to depend on the Cheetah/Chetak fleet even as high-intensity operations are underway against terrorist groups in Rajouri and Baramulla.
(with inputs from agencies)
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