SOURCE: AFI
The Indian military’s Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) fleet, grounded following a series of crashes, including a fatal incident in Gujarat earlier this year, is unlikely to take to the skies for at least another three months. This development comes as investigators work to pinpoint the root cause of a critical component failure that has led to the grounding of the workhorse fleet, a vital asset for the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard.
The ALH, designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, has been under scrutiny following a January 5 crash off the coast of Porbandar, Gujarat. The incident involved a Coast Guard ALH, which suffered a swashplate assembly failure, leading to the deaths of two pilots and an aircrew diver. The crash was one of several in recent years, with the ALH fleet experiencing around 15 accidents over the past five years, raising serious concerns about its safety record.
A high-powered panel investigating the Gujarat crash has identified a material failure in the swashplate—a critical component that controls the helicopter’s rotor movement—as a key factor in the accident. The swashplate, made of titanium alloy, is responsible for carrying out tests to determine the material’s ability to withstand loads in different operating conditions. “Once that report is in, we will know whether it was a material failure or something else,” an official involved in the investigation stated, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The prolonged grounding of the ALH fleet, which includes over 330 helicopters such as the ALH Mk I, Mk III, Rudra, and Cheetah variants, is a significant setback for the three services and the Coast Guard. The fleet has been grounded since the January crash, with HAL learning of the swashplate issue through a fleet-wide inspection conducted post-incident. The Navy and Coast Guard ALHs are facing the same problem: cracks in the swashplate assembly that could be exacerbated by operations in saline environments, such as over the sea.
The Indian Space Research Organisation’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) in Bengaluru has pointed to a swashplate assembly failure as the likely cause of the crash. The Incident Investigation Committee (IIC), set up by HAL following the crash, is expected to submit its report by April-end. The committee’s findings will determine the extent of the material failure and how to address it to achieve safe flight operations.
The IIC’s report will be submitted to the Ministry of Defence’s Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) and the Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA). “The DGAQA will incorporate the IIC’s findings into its report, which is likely to be submitted in May. It will take at least another month to carry out fleet-wide checks and fix the problem,” a second official explained. The timeline for returning the ALH fleet to service also depends on whether the checks can be carried out on the field or if they require integrating a dynamic system, including the transmission system, gearbox, and rotor hub, for each helicopter.
The ALH fleet underwent a design review in 2023-24 following a replacement of a defective control system, but the January crash has reignited concerns. The armed Rudra variant of the ALH is used by the Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) for combat missions, while more than 90 Rudra helicopters are in service. The Coast Guard, meanwhile, suspended ALH operations after a September crash in the Arabian Sea near Porbandar, which also resulted in the deaths of two pilots and an aircrew diver. The grounding was initially for a one-time check, but the three services and the Coast Guard later cleared their fleets for limited operations following a safety inspection by HAL, CEMILAC, and other units.
Last September’s accident prompted a comprehensive design review, which revealed critical safety issues. HAL responded by initiating upgrades to the ALH fleet’s control systems to enhance airworthiness. However, the fleet has been grounded multiple times since 2023 due to a series of accidents that have called its safety record into question.
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