Advanced Light Helicopter crash in Arunachal likely due to engine-related issues

All ALH in service in the country which have since been grounded for safety checks as a precaution are expected to fly again in two days

The cause of the crash of the weaponised Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) that killed all five personnel onboard in Arunachal Pradesh last week is most likely an engine-related issue, according to official sources and the Court of Inquiry (CoI) will determine the exact cause. Meanwhile, all ALH in service in the country, just over 300, which have since been grounded for safety checks as a precaution are expected to fly again in two days.

“We are putting all of them under a one-time check and they will be flying post that,” one official source said. It is purely a precautionary move and done in case of a major crash, another source said.

“The cause looks most likely an engine-related issue. The CoI will determine the exact cause,” the first source added.

The Army’s checks are expected to be completed by Saturday while that of the Air Force is expected to be completed by Friday, it has been learnt.

The ALH-WSI based at Likabali in Assam crashed in the general area of Rigging, South of Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh at 10.43 a.m. on October 21, 2022.

A Defence Ministry spokesperson in Tezpur, in a statement on the incident, said it was reported that the weather was good for flying operations and prior to the crash, “the Air Traffic Control (ATC) had received a MAYDAY call suggesting a technical or mechanical failure.”

This would form the focus of the Court of Inquiry, which had been immediately constituted to investigate the causes of the accident, the spokesperson had stated.