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CDS General Bipin Rawat chopper crash: What is Controlled Flight into Terrain that led to mishap

The US Federal Aviation Administration Safety defines CFIT as an unintentional collision with terrain while an aircraft is under positive control.

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(Image Source: IANS/File)
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A month after the unfortunate IAF chopper crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor that led to the demise of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 12 Air Force personnel, the Tri-Services Court of Inquiry has submitted its preliminary findings to to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The preliminary findings rule out any foul play including mechanical failure, sabotage or negligence as a cause of the accident. The inquiry team has found that the reason for the accident was the chopper's entry into clouds due to unexpected change in weather conditions.

The tri-services inquiry report headed by IAF Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command, was submitted to the Government of India on December 31. The inquiry report has concluded that the helicopter got entangled in clouds and hit the terrain.

"The accident was a result of the entry into clouds due to an unexpected change in weather conditions in the valley. This led to spatial disorientation of the pilot, resulting in Controlled Flight into Terrain," a statement from the Indian Air Force (IAF) said. This is the first time the IAF has officially put out the findings of the inquiry.

What is Controlled Flight into Terrain

It is a reference to a situation when an aircraft unintentionally hits terrain, like a mountain, waterbody, or any other obstacle.

In aviation, a controlled flight into terrain is also called CFIT which is usually pronounced as see-fit.

It means an airworthy aircraft, under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, a body of water or an obstacle.

Spatial disorientation is the inability of a pilot to correctly interpret aircraft attitude, altitude or airspeed in relation to the Earth or other points of reference.

Spatial disorientation in aircraft can arise from flight situations or visual misinterpretation. Banks and turns often create false sensations.

Controlled flight into terrain or CFIT was identified as a cause of 25% of United States Air Force (USAF) Class A mishaps between 1993 and 2002.

The US Federal Aviation Administration Safety defines CFIT as an unintentional collision with terrain while an aircraft is under positive control.

It adds that most often, the pilot or crew is unaware of the looming disaster until it is too late, and it most commonly occurs in the approach or landing phase of a flight.

Court of Inquiry recommendations

Based on its findings, the Court of Inquiry has made certain recommendations that are being reviewed.

Inquiry team analysed input from the Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder, which are collectively colloquially known as the black box.

Besides, the team questioned all available witnesses to determine the most probable cause of the accident.

India's first CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 12 IAF personnel were killed in the chopper crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on December 8, 2021.

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