Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau to probe Uttarakhand helicopter crash

New Delhi, Oct 30 (PTI) The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will probe the helicopter crash in Uttarakhand that killed six people on Friday, according to a senior official.

     Six people, including the pilot, died in the accident. The helicopter, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation, crashed into a hillside in Joshimath about an hour after it took off from Badrinath on its way to Dehradun.

     The senior official told PTI that AAIB will probe the accident and that its team has already left for the site.

     The Badrinath temple is among the 'char dhams' in Uttarakhand.

     Yamunotri, Gangotri, and Kedarnath are the other shrines that make up the Char Dham Yatra.

     In an accident investigation report released earlier this month, AAIB said there were eight helicopter accidents in the Char Dham sector in 2015-2025, and most of them were due to the flight crew's non-adherence to standard operating procedures.

     An analysis of the data by AAIB showed that there were 9 occurrences, including 8 accidents and 1 serious incident, in the Char Dham sector during the ten-year period, with at least 1 accident or serious incident every year from 2022 onwards.

     "Out of these 8 accidents, 5 accidents were fatal. There was no accident in 2015 & 2016, as the Char Dham operations during that time were very limited.

     "From the year 2017 to 2019, there were 2 accidents, out of which 1 was fatal. In the years 2020 & 2021, the operations were very limited owing to COVID-19 protocols and no accidents were reported during this period," AAIB said in its final report on the helicopter crash in Uttarakhand that killed 7 people in June last year.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)