CDS CHOPPER CRASH: ASPECTS THAT AAIB, COURT OF INQUIRY WILL LOOK INTO

The weather that day, though misty at some places close to the destination, was totally fit for flying, especially for a Master Green pilot, who must have flown through such weather a very large number of times. The weather and the visibility were within the flying limitations of the pilot.

- PRAFUL BAKSHI

The tragedy in the Nilgiris of the crash of the MI17 helicopter on 9 December, involving CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and his team and the chopper crew has again reminded us of the saying that if aviation is one of the most romantic human ventures, then an aviation accident or an air crash is equally one of the most unfortunate tragedies. This uncanny relationship prepares any aviator under training to the inevitability of this phenomenon and its ghastly repercussions if one is not prepared for it.

All aviation training institutions the world over, whether military or civil, prepare their trainee pilots to face air emergencies of any sort, the theory behind these and related corrective actions, so that a safe landing can be executed with minimum loss of lives and equipment.

The number of emergencies in aviation are many and relate to the type of aircraft and the mission it is undertaking.

Hence, we can in a general sense divide these into, 1) engine related, its handling and subsequent total failure including engine fir; 2) emergencies related to airframe and the systems which operate the flying services like hydraulics, brakes, etc; 3) electric related emergencies which may involve the flying instruments and also the control surfaces; 4) fire emergencies; 5) emergency related to weather, i.e., bad weather and its repercussions. Though bad weather is not an emergency in itself, but could develop into one if not handled efficiently, therefore all pilots are made proficient to fly on instruments without any outside references so as to execute safe flying to their respective destinations while in clouds and bad weather.