After Pathankot chopper crash, pilot’s family wants proper training, equipment in Army Aviation Corps

An Army Aviation Rudra Advanced Light Helicopter had crashed in the dam reservoir on August 3, 2021. The body of one of the pilots, Lt Col AS Batth was found several days later on August 15 while Capt Jayant’s body was found after 75 days on October 17. Speaking to The Indian Express over phone, Harish Joshi, said the family is pained that despite having written to President and Defence Secretary, they have had no satisfactory response from the government. “I wrote to the President seeking action in the matter. My letter was forwarded to the secretary, Ministry of Defence, with instructions that I should be told what has happened. I have received no reply from defence secretary,” Joshi said.

Joshi said he also wrote to the then Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Karamvir Singh, thanking the Navy, especially the recovery team, which located Jayant’s body. “Every member of the Navy team were determined to find the body. While I encountered apathy at times from local Army authorities in Pathankot, the Naval teams were confident and used to tell me, ‘trust us. We will take him out. It may take some time’,” said Joshi, adding that it was because of the Naval team’s efforts that the family could give a send off befitting a soldier to their son.

Joshi said the Army Aviation Pilots need to be given the special training required for flying over water. “Flying over water is a very difficult game than flying over land as there is reflection from water which causes errors in judgement of altitude. These pilots did not have that training. They did not have underwater crash survival training or even a life jacket. Navy gives such training and equipment to its helicopter pilots and there is no reason why Army Aviation should not give this training to their pilots,” he said.

The father of Capt Jayant added that the autopsy report of his son’s body confirmed his doubts that his son was alive in water after the crash but he drowned because he did not have a life jacket. “The autopsy report states he died by drowning. He was a geat swimmer and he could have escaped if he had a life jacket as it would have kept him floating. Within half an our rescue boats and choppers had reached the place. He had suffered a thigh bone fracture and a collar bone fracture in the crash. These injuries were survivable of he had safety equipment,” he said.