India: India defence chief’s pilot ‘disoriented by weather’, inquiry

NEW DELHI, 16 January 2022, (TON): A pilot disoriented by a sudden change in weather conditions crashed the helicopter carrying India’s defence chief General Bipin Rawat last month, killing all 14 people on board, an official inquiry found.

The 63-year-old Rawat was travelling with his wife and other senior officers in the Russian-made Mi-17V5 chopper, which crashed near its destination in southern Tamil Nadu state on December 8.

India’s defence ministry said in a statement “the court of inquiry has ruled out mechanical failure, sabotage or negligence as a cause of the accident.”

The ministry said that the investigation team analysed the flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder and questioned witnesses to come up with its preliminary report.

The statement said “the accident was a result of entry into clouds due to unexpected change in weather conditions in the valley.”

“This led to spatial disorientation of the pilot resulting in Controlled Flight into Terrain.”

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