New Delhi, August 13 – Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not visit the Siachen glacier during his Leh visit on Tuesday but if he had gone to the world’s highest battlefield with the standard entourage, the army would have been hard pressed to manage the flying effort required.
The reason being that for almost three weeks, India’s entire fleet of 140 odd Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) have been grounded after a fatal crash that have raised serious safety questions on the fleet.
Besides their standard duties in Army formations, these choppers have been increasingly pressed into service in the Siachen region over the past few months due to a massive shortage of light helicopters that has occurred due to the inability of the UPA government to replace the three decade old fleet of Cheetah choppers that is the main supply line for the Brigade plus strength of soldiers manning the glacier.
However, the entire fleet of these ALH choppers have not been flying since July 25 when a fatal crash in Uttar Pradesh led to the death of seven air force personnel and threw up serious safety issues – primarily due to the fact that the chopper went down in good weather on a standard sortie over flat land after a technical fault was reported by the crew moments before the loss.
It can now be revealed that the July 25 crash that took place near Sitapur, involved an ALH chopper that had been certified for operational flying just three days prior on July 22 after a standard maintenance schedule that was carried out by the Indian Air Force in Bareilly.
Sources have said that the chopper barely had 520 hours of flying time and had come out of a month long standard maintenance schedule before the crash. In fact, the chopper had barely flown for six hours after the maintenance that the accident occurred.
While investigations are on to ascertain the reason behind the accident, all choppers in service with the air force and army have been notified as grounded by an HAL directive.
As many as 12 teams of the chopper manufacturer are currently carrying out inspections of each and every machine. Both Air Force and Army officials have confirmed the grounding while HAL officials have said that inspections of the entire fleet are on.
While the manufacturers have raised doubts on the process of maintenance followed by the air force days prior to the crash, accounts have varied from panels falling off the tail section of the chopper to a failure of the tail rotor system. Sources said that the transmission system and tail control systems are being checked for faults.
A complete check of the entire fleet and preliminary findings of the crash inquiry could take a few more days to be carried out and the fleet will not fly till an all clear is sounded.
Till then, the ALH choppers that undertake critical supply sorties to the Siachen region shall not undertake any missions. In all the army aviation operates 70 of these choppers at various locations.
What has compounded the problems for the Army is that its entire deployment of troops in the Siachen area are heavily dependent on light choppers for vital supplies of medicines food and ammunition, besides the life saving role of medical evacuations.
While for the past three decades, this task has been carried out by a fleet of Cheetah choppers that land at impossible altitudes much beyond their initial design limits, this fleet has been ageing fast and has reached the end of its service life.
The army has however not got any new choppers despite hectic efforts for almost a decade under the UPA regime after successive tenders failed to reach a conclusion on reasons varying from corruption charges to an improper process.
The most recent effort to purchase 197 new choppers has been stuck for two years as one of the competitors that lost out – AgustaWestland – has been under investigations on corruption charges in the VVIP chopper deal.
Even the relatively heavier ALH Choppers that have been employed as emergency alternatives on the glacier have had their spate of incidents. In the past year for example, at least two category one crashes in which the entire chopper has been lost have occurred on the Siachen glacier itself.
When contact, an Army HQ official said “The fleet has not been flying since the accidents as checks are on. It is still not known how long the choppers will remain grounded”.
An IAF spokesperson confirmed that the ALH fleet has not been flying. A senior HAL official when contacted said “Inspection of the fleet is on and 12 teams led by senior officials have been dispatched at various locations across the nation to assist in checks”.
-INDIA TODAY
