Editor's Pick: Unravelling a helicopter crash

The tri-service inquiry ordered into the crash of an Indian Air Force helicopter which killed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Bipin Rawat and others is complete with officials indicating the probable cause to be “Controlled Flight into Terrain” (CFIT). The findings have been sent for legal review after which the report will be submitted to the Union government, a defence official said on condition of anonymity. “The findings have been sent for legal vetting. It will take about 10 to 15 days for finalisation,” the official said. Two officials in the know of the matter said CFIT was the most probable cause of the crash, and the inquiry report, once submitted, would throw more light on it. The Mi-17V5 helicopter with Gen. Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 12 others including his staff, the pilots and crew was en route to the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, from Sulur on December 8 when it crashed in the Nilgiris close to the destination. A tri-service inquiry was ordered by the IAF headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command, to investigate the crash. As part of the inquiry, the flight data recorder (FDR) as well as the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) were recovered and sent for analysis to reconstruct the last moments before the crash. CFIT means that the pilot is in full control of the aircraft but due to faulty situational awareness, the aircraft strikes the terrain, explained Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd.), a former helicopter pilot. “An example could be of an aircraft doing low flying over a large expanse of water and striking it due to lack of depth perception. A similar strike could happen over snow,” he said. A CFIT means the helicopter was fully serviceable and instruments were in order, a senior Army pilot who has flown extensively in the mountains said. The crash is likely due to loss of situational awareness and disorientation which in most cases is due to poor weather, he noted. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) defines CFIT as an unintentional collision with terrain (the ground, a mountain, a body of water, or an obstacle) while an aircraft is under positive control. “Most often, the pilot or crew is unaware of the looming disaster until it is too late. CFIT most commonly occurs in the approach or landing phase of flight,” an FAA fact sheet stated. With the call for a thorough and speedy inquiry into the crash that took the life of India’s first CDS who had not yet completed two years of his term, this becomes an important story of the day. The Hindu Editorials Needless provocation: On China ‘renaming’ Arunachal places Prepare for the worst: On Omicron response Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. Click here Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Which country’s space centre is based in the city of Semnan?? 1. Iran 2. Turkey 3. Israel 4. North Korea To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 01 JANUARY 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Unravelling a helicopter crash [Unravelling a helicopter crash] The [tri-service inquiry ordered into the crash of an Indian Air Force helicopter]( which killed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Bipin Rawat and others is complete with officials indicating the probable cause to be “Controlled Flight into Terrain” (CFIT). The findings have been sent for legal review after which the report will be submitted to the Union government, a defence official said on condition of anonymity. “The findings have been sent for legal vetting. It will take about 10 to 15 days for finalisation,” the official said. Two officials in the know of the matter said CFIT was the most probable cause of the crash, and the inquiry report, once submitted, would throw more light on it. The Mi-17V5 helicopter with Gen. Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 12 others including his staff, the pilots and crew was en route to the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, from Sulur on December 8 when [it crashed in the Nilgiris close to the destination](. A tri-service inquiry was ordered by the IAF headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command, to investigate the crash. As part of the inquiry, the flight data recorder (FDR) as well as the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) were recovered and sent for analysis to reconstruct the last moments before the crash.  CFIT means that the pilot is in full control of the aircraft but due to faulty situational awareness, the aircraft strikes the terrain, explained Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd.), a former helicopter pilot. “An example could be of an aircraft doing low flying over a large expanse of water and striking it due to lack of depth perception. A similar strike could happen over snow,” he said. A CFIT means the helicopter was fully serviceable and instruments were in order, a senior Army pilot who has flown extensively in the mountains said. The crash is likely due to loss of situational awareness and disorientation which in most cases is due to poor weather, he noted. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) defines CFIT as an unintentional collision with terrain (the ground, a mountain, a body of water, or an obstacle) while an aircraft is under positive control. “Most often, the pilot or crew is unaware of the looming disaster until it is too late. CFIT most commonly occurs in the approach or landing phase of flight,” an FAA fact sheet stated. With the call for a thorough and speedy inquiry into the crash that took the life of India’s first CDS who had not yet completed two years of his term, this becomes an important story of the day. [underlineimg] The Hindu Editorials [Arrow][Needless provocation: On China ‘renaming’ Arunachal places]( [Arrow][Prepare for the worst: On Omicron response]( [underlineimg] Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. 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