Union Civil Aviation Ministry's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has released its preliminary investigation report on the deadly helicopter crash in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi on May 8. The report said the pilots of the BELL 407 helicopter attempted and emergency landing on the Uttarkashi-Gangotri National Highway when the tragedy occurred.
What led to Uttarkashi helicopter crash?
The AAIB report said the helicopter's main rotor blade hit an overhead fibre cable running parallel to the highway near Gangnani during the emergency landing, eventually causing it to descend without control. After hitting the road and damaging nearby metal barricades, the helicopter tumbled down 250 feet into a steep gorge, before coming to rest against a tree.
Swift Action by #Himveers!
— ITBP (@ITBP_official) May 8, 2025
A 50-member team of 35 Bn & 12 Bn #ITBP, along with NDRF & UK SDRF conducted a rescue operation at the civil helicopter crash site near Gangnani, Uttarkashi.
6 bodies, including pilot Capt. Robin Singh, were recovered; 1 injured passenger rescued. pic.twitter.com/N6yeF5waGM
This occurred around 20 minutes after the chopper took off from Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun around 8.50 am on May 8. It was bound for the Kharsali helipad, which is located six km from Yamunotri. The helicopter was completely destroyed in the crash but there was no fire.
According to AAIB, the previous inspection of the helicopter was carried out on April 25, 2025. Records revealed that a tail rotor defect in the chopper was fixed two days before the crash and has no links to the tragedy that occurred on May 8. The investigation, which is still ongoing, is supported by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) and Rolls-Royce.
The crash of BELL 407 helicopter operated by Aerotrans Services Private Limited led to death of six people on board, including the pilot. The pilot, Robin Singh, 59, had a flying experience of 6,160 hours.
The passengers were pilgrims who were heading the Gangotri temple. They were identified as Radha Agarwal, 79, Kala Chandrakant Soni, 61, Vijayalakshmir Reddy, 57, Vedanti, 40, and Ruchi Agarwal. Another passnger, Maktoor Bhaskar, 51, who was injured critically, was airlifted to AIIMS Rishikesh.
