YSR HELICOPTER CRASHED DUR TO HUMAN ERROR: COMMITTEE

GOVERNMENT RECEIVES REPORT ON ANDHRA PRADESH HELICOPTER CRASH

New Delhi

January 20, 2010

The Government has received the detailed report by the Committee set up to enquire into the helicopter crash in Andhra Pradesh which had taken place on 2 September, 2009.

The Central Government had appointed a four members Committee of Inquiry on 3 September, 2009 headed by Shri R.K. Tyagi, CMD, M/s. Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited to investigate the accident of the Bell 430 helicopter (BT-APG) of Andhra Pradesh Government which had occurred on 2 September, 2009. The Committee was mandated to enquire into the circumstances of this accident. The other members of Committee were Capt. Irshad Ahmed, Flight Operations Inspector (FOI), O/o Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Shri Sanjay Bramhane, Senior Air Safety Officer, O/o Directorate of Air Safety, DGCA Mumbai with Shri Maneesh Kumar, Dy. Director of Air Safety, DGCA as the Member Secretary of the Committee.

The Committee of Inquiry has submitted its report to the Government.

During the course of investigation, the investigation team undertook technical analysis at the crash site for crucial evidences and also at the Andhra Pradesh Aviation Corporation Limited (APACL) Hanger at Hyderabad for reconstruction/tear-down analysis of various helicopter components and systems.

Various technical inputs/analysis were coordinated with Airports Authority of India (AAI), Indian Air Force (IAF), Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), National Aeronautical Laboratories (NAL), Bangalore and Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratories (DMRL), Hyderabad. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) provided help for certain analysis with Central Forensic Science Laboratories (CFSL), Hyderabad. India Precision Lightning Network, New Delhi provided technical inputs about the electric charge scenario of the areas around the site on the day of crash.

The help of various International Agencies like Transport Safety Board (TSB) Canada, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), M/s. Bell Helicopters, M/s. Goodrich, M/s. Rolls Royce of USA were taken for Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) downloads, engine and Electronic Control Unit (ECU) analysis, etc.

The Committee interviewed and wherever necessary recorded the statement of various officials of Andhra Pradesh Government and also of APACL for various investigations/analysis.

The Probable cause of the accident is – accident occurred due to loss of control resulting in uncontrolled descent in the terrain at a very high rate of descent due to entry into severe down draught.

The other contributory factors were:

(a) The crew flew in Instrument Flying condition though flight plan was cleared for Visual Flight Rules (VFR).

(b) Crew noticed a snag and was engrossed for vital six minutes before the impact in searching for the relevant checklist from the Flight Manual. This distracted their attention from the prevailing poor visibility weather conditions thus leading into the loss of situational awareness.

The Report and its safety recommendations including on functioning of APACL and other regulatory issues are under consideration of the Government.