IAF worried 8212; 4th chopper crashes

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 5: The Indian Air Force's latest problem is dropping out of the air, a bit too literally: crashing helicopters. In just...

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 5: The Indian Air Force8217;s latest problem is dropping out of the air, a bit too literally: crashing helicopters. In just four months, the IAF has lost four helicopters in high altitude areas. The latest casualty was that of a Cheetah helicopter at Siachen glacier on Wednesday, in which the pilot, a young air force flight lieutenant, died.

Individual courts of inquiry have been ordered into each of the crashes. IAF officials maintain that material fatigue and pilot errors could be causing the crashes. Two at the Siachen glacier in the past two months and two others at Lahul Spiti in Himachal Pradesh have set the Western Air Command WAC, which services Jammu and Kashmir state, thinking.

With the army8217;s increased deployment in inhospitable terrain in high altitude areas post-Kargil, air force operations have increased more than 100 per cent in the past one year. 8220;But there has not been an increase of a single helicopter in the IAF fleet in the WAC,8221; sources said.

Helicopters which were delivering around 5,000 tonnes of logistics to high altitude areas had their task doubled after Kargil. The army established posts in mountains inaccessible on foot. The entire WAC was mobilised to sustain the army not only along the 150-kilometre-long Kargil area but also along the 76-kilometre-long Siachen glacier.

The Cheetah helicopters are of 60s vintage and were inducted into the IAF in the early 70s. There has been no significant improvement in the single engine helicopter, which is not even guaranteed by manufacturers to fly above 18,000 feet. However, the IAF and army aviation pilots fly these helicopters up to 22,000 feet altitude with no reserve power in case of emergencies. 8220;We know in case something goes wrong, or there is even a strong wind current we will crash into the ice desert below,8221; a Cheetah pilot told The Indian Express.

8220;There are areas in the glacier where we pilots have a prayer on our lips. Crevices so wide and deep that they could swallow an entire helicopter without a trace in the event of a force landing. The ground is so fragmented and uneven that chances of survival are negligible and temperatures as low as -60 degrees Celsius,8221; he added.

The IAF is cagey about mentioning how many helicopters it has lost, but sources said eight air force pilots have been killed in Siachen alone in the past fifteen-and-a-half years. 8220;The numbers of helicopters lost is three to four times more,8221; added an official. 8220;There were reports of contaminated aviation spirit being supplied. But the fact of the matter is that the pilots themselves test the quality of the fuel before it is filled. In case they are not satisfied, the lot is rejected,8221; sources said.

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The machine that was flying 15 sorties a day last year is now flying up to 30 sorties every day. Despite servicing, metal fatigue and other aspects are causing more accidents. Pilots too tend to make errors with increased work load, he added.

An IAF spokesperson said there had been two crashes in the northern sector in the past one month and two others elsewhere. 8220;A Court of Inquiry has been ordered,8221; he added.

One of the Cheetah helicopters that crashed in Siachen last month was on a routine communication sortie. The cause of the crash was a purely mechanical failure in an engine component, he stated. 8220;However, modifications have already been initiated at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited HAL,8221; the spokesperson added.