The tri-services inquiry team formed to probe the mishap was expected to submit their report to the government by December 31. The probe team is headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh and comprises two Brigadier-rank officers from the Army and Navy.
New Delhi: Air Force officials will brief Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at 11 am on Wednesday. The officials are expected to apprise Singh about the findings of the report into the December 8 Mi-17V5 helicopter crash, which claimed the lives of CDS Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other armed forces personnel.
The tri-services inquiry team formed to probe the mishap was expected to submit their report to the government by December 31. The probe team is headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh and comprises two Brigadier-rank officers from the Army and Navy.
“The inquiry report was expected to be submitted to the government by December 31. The detailed report has been prepared on the ground by the officials and thorough analysis of the data received from the black box,” government sources told ANI.
Initial investigations into the case suggested that the accident was sudden, sources had stated. A video of the IAF’s Mi-17V5 helicopter flying over Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu had also surfaced that seemingly showed the final moments of the chopper before it crashed. The video, shot by locals, captured the flying helicopter disappearing into the mist within seconds.
In the video, it was evident that the weather was apparently cloudy. The helicopter, which took off from Sulur airbase at 11:48 am, lost contact with the control room at around 12.08 pm. General Rawat was headed to Defence Services Staff College in Wellington to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course when his chopper crashed. General Rawat’s wife Madhulika Rawat, his Defence Adviser Brigadier Lakhbinder Singh Lidder, Staff Officer Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh and nine other Armed Forces personnel including the Air Force helicopter crew lost their lives in the accident.
