After 4 Crashes, Ecuador Grounds Fleet of Indian Dhruv Choppers, Cancels Contract

[OTTOMAN]

The Ecuadorians are notorious for their poor flight safety record, it is no surprise the ALH met a similar fate in their hands and that too once the support contract with HAL had ELAPSED.

Only Ecuadorian can reply your allegation better, and you knew it that there is non around.
Mig-21 served well all around the globe but Indian pilots are so keep crashing it, despite regular support from Russia

Tejas will become more and more advance in the coming years .

Good... junk should be sent to paint shop, before sending to museum.

 

[Hindustani78]

Only Ecuadorian can reply your allegation better, and you knew it that there is non around.
Mig-21 served well all around the globe but Indian pilots are so keep crashing it, despite regular support from Russia



Good... junk should not be sent to be paint shop, before sending to museum.

Friday, Apr 16, 2004
General Director of the MiG Corporation, Valery Toryanin

Mr. Toryanin touched upon the problem of MiG-21 crashes in India. While admitting he did not have the full picture, he said "poor maintenance and faulty spares" purchased from "unauthorised dealers" were part of the problem.

Tejas will become the brand name of Indian Air Force in coming years.

 

[Mustang06]

Looks at this "flying coffin" pilots must be terrified even looking at it let alone flying in it:

Look at all the LOSERS on this thread, so quick to disparage others and jump on inconsequential news.


You can train the pilots as per your contract but you can't hold the hands of them and the ground crews for the life of the product, show me another OEM anywhere in the world that has done so. The Ecuadorians are notorious for their poor flight safety record, it is no surprise the ALH met a similar fate in their hands and that too once the support contract with HAL had ELAPSED.

Ecuador's experience with the ALH remains an outlier and is not at all reflective of the rest of the fleet which continues to have an excellent service record in all climates and mission profiles.

Holy sh*t!
I didn't knew Dhruv could do a full loop!
Plus after watching this someone still calls Dhruv a failure then only god can help them with there insecurity!

 

[Hindustani78]

Holy sh*t!
I didn't knew Dhruv could do a full loop!
Plus after watching this someone still calls Dhruv a failure then only god can help them with there insecurity!

Its about the Tejas recent landing gear problem which is quite common among all the air force.

 

[Mustang06]

Its about the Tejas recent landing gear problem which is quite common among all the air force.

Also nirbhay i guess

 

[Hindustani78]

Also nirbhay i guess

Nirbhay will get operational clearance within 2 years and its under testing .

 

[BuddhaPalm]

India backstabbed Ecuador with helicopters that kill crew and passengers. How evil. What did Ecuador do to you?

 

[Abingdonboy]

Mig-21 served well all around the globe but Indian pilots are so keep crashing it, despite regular support from Russia

Incorrect, Russia has provided sub-par service to many of its legacy equipment in Indian service. This meant the MoD took the unprecedented step of opening bids to third parties for sourcing spares for Russian-origin equipment in Indian service- entirely cutting the OEMs out of the loop. This says all you need to know about the performance of the Russians.

Either way it is a 40-50 year old platform, comparing it to brand new ALHs, that too with an outstanding service record, is nonsensical to say the least.

India backstabbed Ecuador with helicopters that kill crew and passengers. How evil. What did Ecuador do to you?

@waz sir, please take care of this comedian.

 

[sathya]

India backstabbed Ecuador with helicopters that kill crew and passengers. How evil. What did Ecuador do to you?

Please give your helis to them,

Let's see how long it lasts

 

[Indika]

Please give your helis to them,

Let's see how long it lasts

Chinese can make copy of any thing , which one do you prefer bell,sikorsky,westland, apache ?
In fact you get the latest one, even if it is still undergoing testing by original manufacturer it will be already *available for **cash & carry with ***beta testing done all over the world.

* might be missing some critical parts
** only dollar accepted
*** beta testing by pakistan

Maybe. No one is refuting that. But in a huge B2B transaction, you do research on your customers as well.

Make them pilots go through a training course and certify the worthy ones. Obviously this will cost you money which can be factored in bid quote.

When you come with a new product in market, you have to go the extra mile to ensure there is no negative associations with the brand.

Can we say the same for american training for afghans ? It does not matter how good your support or equipment is, you can never make it fool proof for idiots.

 

[Hindustani78]

HAL team headed to Ecuador to sort out copter issue - The Hindu

Updated: November 5, 2015 23:56 IST

In an attempt to salvage India’s image as an exporter of military hardware, the government is sending a team of experts to Ecuador which has grounded its fleet of Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) – Dhruv’s after a series of crashes.

A team from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), is on its way to sort out the issue. “The team will be there in a day or two,” a defence official said.

Ecuador had procured seven ALH Dhruvs from India, five in 2009 and two in 2011 in overall deal worth $ 45.2 million, of which four had crashed following which the remaining had been grounded. Last month, the government of Ecuador had unilaterally terminated the contract with HAL.

While two of the crashes have been attributed to pilot error, one was due to a mechanical failure while that of the fourth is still being debated. HAL officials told The Hindu that they were responsible for maintenance for 24 months after which it was the responsibility of Ecuador for which they have been trained. There were also been reports of Ecuador complaining about lack of spares and maintenance. But HAL officials have refuted the charges saying that enough spares have been supplied and stocked in the country.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence
25-November, 2016 16:39 IST
Dhruv Helicopters

Advanced Light Helicopters, Dhruv exported to Ecuador have sustained a series of crashes out of seven Dhruv helicopters supplied to Ecuador, four have crashed during the period October 2009 to January 2015. Dhruv helicopters were operating normally until January 2015. Post crashes in January 2015, Ecuador suspended operation of Dhruv helicopters.


HAL, on its own, deputed its experts to Ecuador in each case of accident. Ecuador Government constituted Court of Inquiry (CoI) in each case. Being the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), HAL also participated in the Court of Inquiry.


Court of Inquiry reports which have been released by Ecuador Government have concluded the cause of first two accidents as below:

FAE 604 : Pilot Error
FAE 601: Pilot Error


Two other Court of Inquiry reports have not been released by Ecuador Government, citing confidentiality. However, from the Flight Data Recorders (FDR) records analysed by HAL as part of Court of Inquiry proceedings, the following causes of accidents have emerged:

(i) FAE 603: Probable cause is PAO – Pilot Associated Oscillation (human error).

(ii) FAE 605: Probable cause is “Failure of Tail Drive Shaft Attributed to Maintenance Lapse by Ecuadorian Team”.

Ecuador Government has not formally communicated to HAL or its local representative in this regard. The accident reports released by the Ecuador Government point to pilot errors in the first two cases. HAL continues to pursue export of Dhruv helicopter in the light of enquires being received by the company. The following corrective measures have been taken:

• To increase the export potential in global market, HAL has approached European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for Certification of ALH Dhruv helicopter.

• Long Term Onsite Maintenance Support for 3-5 years will be proposed in future contracts.


This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply to Shri B. Senguttuvan in Lok Sabha today.

 

[RangeHunter]

I'm pretty sure that this ugly colour was the reason to the crash. I mean just look at it...

 

[Jugger]

Whoever was doing the maintainance didn't do a very good job, the helis are excellent just look at its performance in the indian military.
If the maintainance is shabby even the best equipment will fail.