The military helicopter crash that killed Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and 13 others last month is likely to have been caused by air crew error, with the Mi 17V5 chopper going down in bad weather without giving any distress call,
A tri-services inquiry into the Mi 17V5 helicopter accident near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu has been finalised and defence minister Rajnath Singh is set to be given a detailed briefing on the crash today.
The inquiry report, according to the people cited earlier, suggests that the helicopter did not suffer from any technical problem and crashed when it entered a low-visibility patch just minutes before the scheduled landing.
The cause of the crash is being identified as a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)–when an aircraft crashes into the ground due to disorientation of the crew and not a technical glitch. A CIFT is among the most common reasons for air crashes in bad weather, especially in mountainous regions.
