Report: Pilot error led to Gen Rawat’s copter crash

A report by the Standing Committee on Defence, tabled in the Lok Sabha, concluded that the helicopter crash that killed Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and 10 others on December 8, 2021, was caused by pilot error.

The report, citing data from the IAF, classified the cause of the crash under "Human Error (Aircrew)". It comes more than three years after the incident, which claimed the lives of General Rawat, his Staff Officer Brigadier LS Lidder, and other personnel.

The copter, a Mi-17 V5 helicopter, took off from Sulur Air Force base in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore and was headed to Defence Staff Services Colleges in Wellington. It crashed minutes before its scheduled landing.

The Standing Committee's analysis covered IAF accidents from 2017 to 2022 and highlighted that a total of 34 accidents occurred during this period. Preliminary findings from an inquiry team, conducted shortly after the crash, suggested that the accident occurred due to the pilot's disorientation after the helicopter entered clouds caused by an unexpected change in weather conditions in the valley.

This led to a Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) incident, as revealed by the analysis of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders.