Flight History
On 22 August 2019, the pilot was informed by the company that rescue flights would be required on 23 August from Arakot to flood-affected areas in Uttarkashi district due to a cloud burst. On the day of the accident, the helicopter first operated a medical/rescue flight from Sahastradhara to Balawat and back with no abnormalities reported. The pilot then received briefing for rescue/relief flights from Arakot. At about 0600 UTC, the helicopter departed Sahastradhara helipad with a pilot and an AME on board, landing at Arakot around 0635 UTC.
After arrival, the pilot received a briefing from local authorities regarding flight details, weather, load items, helipad coordinates, and evacuation requirements. At approximately 0745 UTC, after obtaining clearance (ADC/FIC), the pilot took off from Arakot for Chiva village for flood relief operations. The helicopter carried food, medicine, and other relief items. The weather was sunny with clear skies and visibility greater than 5000 meters. The flying time between Arakot and Chiva was about seven minutes. Before the accident flight, two uneventful sorties were completed. The pilot stated that during these shuttles, he and the AME specifically looked for cables and obstructions, but none were located. The pilot noted that the first sortie was flown at 8000 ft indicated altitude, while the second and third sorties were flown at 7500 ft indicated altitude because the Chiva helipad was at approximately 5900 ft in a closed bowl-like terrain, and a steep descent from 8000 ft could lead to vortices. The valley mountains were around 9000 to 10000 ft.
Incident
During the third sortie, after takeoff from Arakot for Chiva, no abnormalities were observed until the top of descent. At an altitude of about 6500 ft and approximately 2 NM short of Chiva, the right skid of the helicopter struck a cable. The right skid separated from the front cross tube joint and struck the right-side Perspex. Broken pieces of Perspex hit the pilot's face and body, causing his right eye to bleed. Simultaneously, the helicopter pitched upward about 40 feet, then experienced abrupt attitude changes and became uncontrollable. The pilot eventually regained partial control and decided to perform an emergency landing. No suitable landing area was available in the valley due to steep mountains and a flooded river below. The pilot located a riverbed with rocks and boulders, flared to land on a large flat rock, but the helicopter impacted a rock on its belly before sliding back and settling on the rocks. The pilot immediately turned the throttle to OFF, and the engineer applied rotor brakes. The pilot switched off all circuit breakers and switches. Both occupants evacuated via the left (co-pilot) side door because the right (pilot) side door was distorted and crushed by the severed skid.
Villagers and a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team in the area heard a loud bang and rushed to the helicopter, rescuing the pilot and engineer. They were taken to Arakot helipad by the SDRF team and then to Dehradun by a State Government helicopter for medical treatment. The engineer sustained minor injuries, while the pilot suffered serious injuries requiring hospitalization. No fire occurred.
Damage to Helicopter
The helicopter sustained substantial damage. The skid assembly was severely damaged, including forward and aft cross tubes, left and right skid tubes, rocker beam assembly, and flight step. Both cockpit side doors were cracked and partially crushed, with broken window Perspex and distorted hinges. Both side cabin doors were cracked and partially crushed, with broken cabin door window Perspex and distorted hinges. The litter door was cracked and partially crushed, with broken window glass and distorted hinges. The baggage compartment door was cracked with distorted hinges. The windshield was also damaged.
Injuries to Persons
One crew member (the pilot) suffered serious injuries. One passenger (the AME) sustained minor injuries. No fatalities occurred.