TN police stop probe into copter crash that killed Gen Bipin Rawat
The IAF helicopter was proceeding from the Sulur Air Force Station in Coimbatore to the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington in the Nilgiris
The Tamil Nadu Police have stopped further investigations into the helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on December 8, 2021 that resulted in the deaths of General Bipin Rawat, India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), his wife Madhulika Rawat, and 12 other Indian defence personnel.
The Upper Coonoor police, who had registered a case under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), kept the investigation pending because of the lack of important evidence like the data from the ill-fated helicopter’s Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder and the weather clearance report that had been issued on December 8, 2021, the day of the crash.
According to media reports, the air force base authorities did not share any of these details with the investigating officers, saying that the required data fell under the defence secrets category. They told the police to request for the information from the Directorate of Aerospace Safety.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter was proceeding from the Sulur Air Force Station in Coimbatore to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington in the Nilgiris. It crashed a few minutes before landing due to suspected bad weather conditions.
A preliminary-findings report submitted on January 14, 2022 by a tri-service board of inquiry that had been set up to investigate the crash concluded that the crash occurred due to an unexpected change in weather conditions that led to spatial disorientation of the pilot. The IAF issued a statement that the Court of Inquiry ruled out any sabotage, negligence, or mechanical failure as the cause of the crash.
In the absence of crucial evidence like the weather clearance report and the data from the flight recorders, the police seem to have finally agreed with the conclusion of the board of inquiry that there was no sabotage and that the helicopter crashed into the mountain because of poor visibility caused by the difficult weather conditions at the time of the flight.
