Defence forces halt ALH Dhruv fleet operations in wake of Navy accident

By Ajit K Dubey
New Delhi [India], March 10 : In the wake of the accident off the Mumbai coast two days ago, the defence forces have halted the operations of the ALH Dhruv helicopters till the time investigators find the reason for the incident and precautionary checks are carried out.
The ALH choppers are operated by all three defence forces including the Army, Navy and Air Force along with the Indian Coast Guard.
"The operations have been halted till the time investigators find out the reason for the incident off the Mumbai coast and precautionary checks are carried out," defence forces' officials told ANI.
The ALH Dhruv choppers are used in multiple roles by the Indian defence forces including transportation of men and material.
"HAL had already initiated steps and will closely work with the customers to ensure that the Helicopters fleet is fully operational," HAL officials told ANI.
The ALH Dhruv has become one of the important parts of helicopter missions undertaken by all three forces involved n different terrains they are deployed.
Defence officials said they were hopeful of resuming the ALH Dhruv operations very soon.
During the incident, two days back, an Indian Navy ALH Dhruv on a routine flying mission off Mumbai experienced a sudden loss of power and rapid loss of height.
The Navy stated that the pilot carried out controlled ditching over water and all three aircrews exited the helicopter safely and were recovered as part of a swift rescue operation.
The ditched helicopter had deployed its emergency flotation gear and efforts are underway to salvage it.