After string of accidents, metallurgy flaws identified in ALH Dhruv helicopters: Report

Some metallurgy and design issues have been identified in the indigenously developed Advanced Light Helicopter after detailed scrutiny of the choppers, said people familiar with the matter on Wednesday, adding that the flaws are being fixed. 

The scrutiny came after a string of accidents involving the platform that had forced the Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) to ground their fleets, according to a report published by the news agency PTI. 

They also informed the choppers that were grounded to resume their operations following the completion of the safety audit. 

The Indian Navy, the IAF, the Army and the Coast Guard have a total of over 325 ALH Dhruv helicopters and all of them underwent technical checks following the incidents of accidents, they said. 

The ALH Dhruv helicopters are designed and developed by state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The ALH Dhruv is a twin engine, multi-role, multi-mission helicopter in the 5.5 tonne weight class.

In 2002, the certification of the utility military variant was completed and that of the civil variant was completed in 2004. The deliveries of production series helicopters commenced from 2001-02 onwards.

The Indian Army temporarily suspended the operations of ALH Dhruv choppers in May this year. The choppers had been grounded for more than a month after two accidents involving helicopters of the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard.

The crashed ALH Dhruv helicopter was on an operational mission in the Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Army aviation Corps' helicopter made a precautionary landing on the banks of the Marua river in the Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir due to a technical glitch, said Indian Army's Northern Command HQ in its statement.

Two pilots and a technician were on board and suffered injuries due to the emergency landing. All three of them have been safely evacuated and are undergoing treatment at Command Hospital, Udhampur.

(With PTI inputs)