India: Bipin Rawat Chopper Crash: No Technical Snag Or Sabotage, Bad Weather Identified As Prime Reason

NEW DELHI: No technical snag or sabotage and bad weather leading to a phenomenon called Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) is believed to have been identified as the prime reason for the crash of the IAF helicopter near Coonoor that killed CDS Gen Bipin Rawat and 13 others, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Air Marshal Manvendra Singh who headed the tri-service investigation into the crash apprised Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the findings of the probe on Wednesday.

The people cited above said the investigators have ruled out any possibility of technical snag or sabotage in the crash of the Russian-origin twin-engine Mi-17V5 helicopter that was flying from Sulur airbase to Wellington on December 8.

According to experts, the CFIT refers to a phenomenon when an aircraft under control is piloted into the ground, water or other terrains largely due to bad weather or pilot error.

The CFIT generally takes place in bad weather conditions or when a flight is landing.