Not surprisingly, today, Friday’s chopper crash in Sitapur, Uttatar Pradesh that went down engulfed in fire with seven IAF personnel including two officers, was an ALH Dhruv helicopter. It was flying from Bareilly to Allahabad.
Why is it that only military helicopters crash in India?
The HAL Dhruv, manufactured by India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), was designed with assistance from MBB in Germany. As of October 2013, more than 150 HAL Dhruv have been produced for different customers.
In 2005, following a crash landing of a Dhruv, the entire fleet was grounded when it was discovered to have been caused by excessive vibration in the area of the tail rotor. It forced a redesign of the tail rotor, which incorporated new materials in addition to changes in design methodology. After recertification, it was returned to service shortly after March 2006.
In September 2010, it was reported that the Dhruv’s Integrated Dynamic System (IDS), which transfers power from the Shakti engines to the helicopter rotors, was not performing optimally. HAL engineers said it had reduced speed, high-altitude capability, and the life of the IDS, requiring frequent replacement. This has affected the cruising speed which has been restricted to 250 km/h and reduced high-altitude performance. With the Italian aerospace firm Avio’s help, the problem was fixed.
India’s army and air force — strapped for helicopters — have no choice but to accept and fly Dhruvs, even though they are performing below par and metal keeps chipping off inside the IDS. HAL has itself implemented six changes inside the IDS so far.
Another report alleged the Dhruv has been “rushed” through the test-phase. A report in Business standard in September 2010 said the HAL developed the Dhruv in haste and introduced it into operational service without adequate testing.
Quoting a Ministry of Defence official, the report said: “The IAF asked for about 75 design changes while HAL was developing the Dhruv. This prevented a coherent and systematic design process. And, thereafter, HAL was too eager to introduce the Dhruv into service. It has now emerged that it was unwise of HAL, and of the IAF, to operationalise the Dhruv before the design was fully stabilised.” There it is!
via Microfinance Monitor
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Till such time the Govt of India forces the pilots of the Indian Air Force to pay for their own insurance (Yes! IAF Pilots must pay for their own insurance is a precondition to their drawing Flying Pay), the powers to be will gladly sacrifice young lives. If HAL has to pay 2 Crores to each Pilot as compensation, they will work wonders (and some of their stalwarts are actually brilliant). Court Of Inquiries of Flying Accidents are bullshit marked as "Confidential" so that they cannot be challenged in courts of law. It took some 35 Chetak Cheetah accidents (many of them Fatal), before a test pilot found that HAL had been eating into the surge margins of the Artouste III B engine and had failed to inform the pilots that the engine is likely to surge well within the Flight Manual Boundaries. Atleast 25 more points but I need'nt bore you. The incompetence of HAL is unfathomable.
ReplyDeleteIn India accept the dead no one else can be wrong. The pilot dies and all accidents are registered as pilot error. The machine never has any problems, in fact it is so good that there are no buyers accept the armed forces. What can you say of a PSU company which makes profit out of selling such equipment to its own armed forces. There is no limit to greed and corruption.
ReplyDeletePrivatize HAL. Axe the socalled Defence Reverse- engineering & Damage Org. You would find finest of indigenous military-ware products emerging in our market employing our own youth. Why not procure DRUV for the"VVIP" instead of Augusta Westland?? In India any CDA chap would tell you the cheapest commodity... the life of a soldier!
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