The helicopter carrying India’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Bipin Rawat and 12 others and his entourage had not given any distress call to Air Traffic Controller (ATC) and radioed that the copter was descending to land at Wellington helipad in 7-8 minutes.
“The tri-services team investigating the tragic chopper crash near Coonoor that killed CDS Gen Bipin Rawat and 12 others is focusing on all possible reasons including whether a human error caused the accident, people familiar with the development said on Thursday. The black box, comprising the flight data recorder (FDR) and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), of the ill-fated Mi-17V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force was recovered from the crash site. “All angles including possible human error will be investigated,” a senior military official said.
The IAF has ordered a tri-service investigation led by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command, into the chopper crash.
