The Indian Air Force's (IAF) ill-fated Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, which crashed last week in Uttar Pradesh, is said to be repaired and serviced a few days before the incident.
Ministry of Defence sources told dna that the ill-fated chopper is said to have clocked more than 500 flying hours and that it was serviced only a few days before the crash, leaving seven people on-board dead.
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the manufactures of the 5.5 tonne, have meanwhile retrieved the flight data recorder of the crashed chopper. Though initial reports suggest that the crash could have occurred due to a snag in the engine, a court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the exact reason for the crash.
A HAL official said the flight data recorder has been brought to Bangalore, to probe what led to the crash.
"The data from the flight data recorder and the cock pit voice recorder would retrieved and analysed to find out what led to the crash. The finding would be submitted to the court which is carrying out the inquiry," said the official.
The IAF has said that the pilots of the helicopter which was airborne from Bareilly to Allahabad, had given a 'May-Day' (emergency) call. Thereafter, the IAF lost contact with the helicopter on radar and radio. This is the seventh time when an ALH Dhruv has crashed, and the second crash to have occurred this year. In February, an ALH Dhruv chopper which was exported to Ecuador had crashed in the South American country killing three people on board.
The HAL official said that the inquiry into the Ecuadoran crash is on, and that the preliminarily findings have hinted that it could be due to an error by the pilot. He also added that the inquiry report would be submitted directly to Ecuador and not made public due to non-disclosure agreement between HAL and South America.
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