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The Indian Army has again grounded its fleet of Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, two days after the indigenously made copter crash landed in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, killing one technician and injuring two pilots.
The fleet stranding comes at a time when the Army is engaged in counter insurgency operations in Rajouri and Baramulla to flush out terrorists suspected to be involved in the improvised explosive device triggered blast that took lives of five soldiers on Friday.
Rajnath interacts with troops
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also flew down to Rajouri from Delhi on Saturday to meet and interact with troops engaged in the counter insurgency operations. For the last mile connectivity, he took a Mi 17 chopper.
The Army’s decision to ground Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) manufactured ALHs post May 4 incident is out of precaution and they will take to wings again after completing thorough checks, said defence sources. This is the second time in two months when ALH fleet operations have been halted. Last time, the Navy, Coast Guards, Army and Air Force grounded their entire individual platforms after two air mishaps since March.
In one case, the Navy’s chopper ditched in a water in Arabian Sea after completing its VVIP sorties, leaving pilots to come out safely. Another was when a Coast Guard helicopter crash landed in April after taking off in Kochi.
Before that too, they have been involved in accidents. Last October, five Army personnel were killed after the ALH Mark IV Rudra, the twin-engine weapon system integrated (WSI) version, went down at Migging village in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
The Army owns the largest fleet of 145 ALH, which included 75 Rudra, followed by the Airforce that has 75, the Navy 18, and the Coast Guard 20 choppers.
Air Force sources said the ALH fleet have undergone checks instituted by HAL after the two previous accidents since March. Only those copters that have cleared checks are flying and no fresh decision has been taken after the J&K, Air Forces sources clarified.
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