Featured IAF Mi-17-V5 Helicopter carrying CDS Bipin Rawat with family crashes

[SQ8]

The said difference is not 1500, but 2500 feet.

Makes that even worse. The hips all have Radar altimeters which should have been beeping away even as they approached the hillside. A lot of safety aspects were ignored in making this accident happen

 

[Paul2]

in pitch black never-mind a little fog using some kinda satellite

Mi 17 has no navigation besides an NDB receiver

 

[SIPRA]

This incidence reminds me of a famous phrase, written on the backside of "khattara" type of third grade buses, in Punjab:

"Bakamaal Loag, Lajawaab Service"

 

[fallstuff]

Same thing happened with Kobe's crash, pilot didn't want to say no to the VVIP client, even though conditions were far less than ideal for flying and result in CFIT as well...

This is highly likely in absence of a mechanical defect or sabotage.
The pilot will certainly ignore instructions from controll Tower if he's being instructed by the CDS sitting in helicopter.

 

[Paul2]

Makes that even worse. The hips all have Radar altimeters which should have been beeping away even as they approached the hillside. A lot of safety aspects were ignored in making this accident happen

Radar altimeters are not precise at low altitudes, let alone a tube one from fifties.

Very likely they just turned off the warning.

This is a key distinction in between a forward looking terrain avoidance radar, vs simple radar altimeter. The prior does a lot of computing to figure out a dangerous flight envelope.

I do not understand why you are doing this.
according to airforce-technology.com the custom-made Injun Mi-17V-5 helicopters integrate KNEI-8 avionics suite including navigation, information-displays and cueing systems.

bharati Mi-17V-5 is equipped with state-of-the-art avionics, including four multifunction displays, night-vision equipment, an on-board weather radar, and an autopilot system.

So, they put aftermarket upgrades on their helos. Then this turns much less clear.

 

[DocEinstein]

India has plenty of satellites up there. Don't
those things pick such kind of weather to avoid flying through it for their own CDS.
There is something really really wrong about this accident.

ISI ki sajish ?

 

[Rank]

Besides Bipin's consecutive failures against China and Pakistan on multiple fronts and events, the main hurdle btw procurement of US weapons like F16/F18/F35/more Apaches/Chinooks by the IAF - Removed successfully by whom? Ang guess? Last time Bipin was keen to get S400 and Russian made fighters… once Zia, Gaddafi, Musharaf, Faisal did the same and end it up with?

 

[CONNAN]

If the video is accurate then the heli must have been in IFR (Flying solely on instruments) and not flying by visuals. So to have a CFIT (Controlled flight into terrain) would require either some type of instrument failure or some very poor piloting skills. Indian Armed Forces used Mi-17s in much more adverse conditions than some fog and they have performed admirably.The black box will tell the story but at this point each there are no easy causes to swallow.

- Either the helicopter developed a major fault and is vulnerable in certain conditions,

- Or one of our pilots made a fatal mistake

- Or some sort of sabotage, If external then it's an act of war.. If internal then I can't even imagine the fallout.

 

[Wood]

If the video is accurate then the heli must have been in IFR (Flying solely on instruments) and not flying by visuals. So to have a CFIT (Controlled flight into terrain) would require either some type of instrument failure or some very poor piloting skills. Indian Armed Forces used Mi-17s in much more adverse conditions than some fog and they have performed admirably.The black box will tell the story but at this point each there are no easy causes to swallow.

- Either the helicopter developed a major fault and is vulnerable in certain conditions,

- Or one of our pilots made a fatal mistake

- Or some sort of sabotage, If external then it's an act of war.. If internal then I can't even imagine the fallout.

We can only speculate. I hope it is the first of the three possibilities that you've listed. The last possibility appears to be the least likely to me.

 

[Goenitz]

It can be safely concluded that the pilots were supposed to fly at an altitude of 6,500 feet as it was a hilly terrain and any lower altitude meant chance of collision with mountains. But such experienced IAF pilots showed utter unprofessional behavior by ignoring ground control and flying at dangerously low heights

The pilot was commander of the training school, so skilled. I think the darbari nature of asian people played here. The pilot has lowered the altitude to show clouds, probably to Mrs Rawat. That is why he plunged into the clouds/fog.

I mean how could he ignore the tower control command unless some higher authority assured him to keep it that way. Bipin was professional so he wdn't interfere in such things and probably he was revising his lecture or being debriefed.

What if altitude instrument was sabotaged to confuse the pilots into flying low

It happened in U2 case, but can't ahppen now. Plus there wd be redundancy. Plus pilot could see the ground (before going into fog). Plus he was supposed to fly 6500 ft. Within 2 minutes from the take off, the control tower feedback could make him realise that the ceiling told by tower and instrument mismatch.

 

[Windjammer]

Some sources stating that the Chopper pilot and Abhinandan were batch mates.

 

[Dungeness]

Chinese Minitry of Defense expressed condolence.

 

[siegecrossbow]

varun singh, yes. so he is no aide to bippin but one of the 2 pilots? does it mean that lil ole me was correct all along?
View attachment 800186

I thought Varu Singh wasn’t the chopper pilot?

 

[Trailer23]

- Or some sort of sabotage, If external then it's an act of war.. If internal then I can't even imagine the fallout.

I assure you, (IF) its internal - it'll become a conspiracy/myth... Something that will never be made public and most certainly be swept under a rug.

As for External..., well..., Pakistan & China are no where near Tamil Nadu, I doubt that India will be able to sell that story, especially when your Military have stated over & over that no one can cross the border into India.

Pilot Error - Mechanical Issue - Bad weather, hell ran out of gas... Those are your best option to save face.

 

[doorstar]

I thought Varu Singh wasn’t the chopper pilot?

update:
according to rajnath singh varun singh was the 'captain' of the chopper.


According to Singh, an Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter took off from Surul Air Force Base in Tamil Nadu at 1148 hours on the 8th and was scheduled to land at Veringa Pass at 12:15 hours before proceeding to the Defense Staff Service College to address the students and faculty.

However, minutes before the helicopter arrived, the air traffic control at Surul Air Force Base lost contact with the helicopter. A little later, it was discovered that the helicopter crashed into a dense forest near Gulnur and started a fire. All those recovered from the wreckage of the helicopter were rushed to a nearby military hospital, but 13 of them died of their injuries and the only survivor was the helicopter's captain, Varun Singh, but was also seriously injured and is being kept alive on life support.

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