New Delhi: A top government regulatory body responsible for certification of military aircraft is conducting a full review of the indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH Dhruv) – a key workhorse of the Indian Army – following the accidents.
Sources in the defense and security establishment told ThePrint that the committee constituted by the Bengaluru-based Center for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) – comprising manufacturers Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) and the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) – has made a preliminary The study has already identified some issues.
CEMILAC is a regulatory body under the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) mandated to certify the airworthiness of military aircraft, helicopters, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), aero-engines, air launched weapons and other airborne stores .
The review comes after a spate of helicopter accidents in recent days. Three ALHs have crashed since March, Involved One last week in which an army technician was killed.
There have been about a dozen accidents involving helicopters in the last five years. Pole has been Earth for safety checks by the services following this month’s crash.
Speaking to ThePrint, sources ruled out any design flaw in the helicopters, which have accumulated over 3 lakh hours of intense flying.
Sources said that over 300 helicopters are in service with the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard so far, with the committee finding that some parts fatigue faster.
ThePrint was first to report The ALH, known as Rudra, had met with an accident in Arunachal Pradesh in October last year. After the “collective”, which controls power to the rotors and back, was broken.
Sources had then said that the ALH crash was due to the “collective” failure of the Court of Inquiry (CoI) into the miraculous survival of former Army commander Lt Gen Ranbir Singh in 2019.
The COI found that the rod was broken in half as if someone had cut it. However, further analysis revealed that the rod had high fatigue marks like the other helicopters.
“The CEMILAC panel has found that some parts are showing more fatigue than the time limit. So this is something that will be considered for change,” a source told ThePrint.
Normally, if a particular part has a flight duration of around 300 hours, it is serviced or replaced after 300 hours, the source said.
However, if fatigue is developing prior to 300 hours, one must reduce the stated flight life, so that necessary replacement or service can be performed.
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Black box will be investigated
Talking about the accidents that took place last month, sources said that prima facie it seems to be more of a service level maintenance issue than any technical fault, as was initially suspected.
The flight data recorders (FDRs) of the three helicopters are yet to be studied and more details will emerge after that, the sources said.
The FDR, or black box, is a device that records the performance and condition of an aircraft in flight. It is usually investigated after an accident.
“Dhruv is a mature platform with a proven design. The problem lies with some of the parts that are more metallurgical in nature. There will have to be some changes in terms of servicing schedule,” said the source cited above.
LCH grounded with ALH
Like the ALH, the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) is also grounded, and is undergoing thorough technical checks by the armed services.
The IAF and the Army had placed orders for 15 LCHs last year, of which 10 were to go to the East while the Army got five.
Defense sources said five out of 10 orders have been received by the IAF and they are undergoing checks and balances like the ALH after the Dhruv crashed last month.
Sources said the LCH is also based on the ALH design and is in fact its derivative. He added that it would likely face similar technical issues.
As ThePrint reported in FebruaryArmy It is looking at procuring about 95 Prachanda LCHs for mountain warfare, as well as about 110 Light Utility Helicopters (LUHs) to replace the aging Cheetahs and Chetaks. from HAL.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)