NEW DELHI: Conflicting reports have emerged on whether the IAF did a recce flight of the route before the Mi-17 V 5 carrying CDS Gen Bipin Rawat took off from Sulur air base for the helipad at Wellington on Wednesday and crashed at Nanjappachathiram, killing 13 of the 14 people on board.
According to an official attached to Sulur air base, two small IAF choppers were sent to scout the route as part of protocol to gauge the weather conditions in the Nilgiris. “We are not sure whether the choppers landed at the Wellington helipad or returned without landing,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
However, a senior official from the Madras Regimental Centre at Wellington said, “Actually no trial runs by small choppers were made as the Mi-17 V 5 is a reliable aircraft.”
An official from the Defence Services Staff College, where Gen Rawat was headed to deliver a lecture, said, “Not authorised to comment on it.”
Eyewitnesses at Nanjappachathiram, where the helicopter crashed, said they had not seen or heard another chopper anytime during the day.
S Ramesh Kumar, a retired IAF officer, said that usually during the President’s or the PM’s visit, four choppers fly along with the main chopper. But he was not able to confirm with the IAF authorities whether any choppers were operated prior to the Mi-17 V 5 taking off for Wellington.
"The Mi-17 V 5 was operated by a highly experienced pilot. The chopper was technically advanced, and I suspect human error led to the crash,” Ramesh Kumar said. “The cloud/fog might have been thicker than normal. During such situations, the pilot has to take a decision in a fraction of a second. The decision might have gone wrong.”
The black box, which has been recovered, will possibly reveal what happened in the moments leading to the crash, Kumar said.
Aviation security consultant Mohan Ranganathan said “I have noticed footage of the last minute of the chopper (this footage shot by a tourist was widely aired). It was the foggy weather only and the chopper was flying very low. I suspect that the main reason for the crash was weather condition.”
The IAF may do a recce for the President, Vice-President and Prime Minister, but it was unlikely for a serving officer, he added.
