By IANS,
New Delhi : Defence public sector undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) Friday said it has rushed a three-member team to Ecuador to probe the crash of a Dhruv advanced light helicopter, India’s flagship defence export, this week.
Without specifying the reasons behind the Oct 27 crash, HAL said the team providing assistance to Ecuador for maintenance of the helicopters is also helping in the investigation of the crash.
“The HAL team, which was already in Ecuador providing maintenance support, is assisting the Ecuadorian Air Force in its investigations. In addition, a three-member team of senior specialists, including HAL’s chief test pilot, will be reaching Ecuador to provide all necessary assistance in the investigation,” a HAL official said Friday.
In its first export order, HAL had supplied seven Dhruv helicopters to the South American country in February 2009.
The export of Dhruv to Ecuador was seen as a major breakthrough for India in the area of defence export as it had clinched a $51 million deal with Ecuador after fierce bidding that also involved Israeli firm Elbit, EADS’s Eurocopter and Russia’s Kazan.
HAL, however, denied any structural problems with the helicopter.
“Ecuadorian pilots have undergone extensive flying training on Dhruv at HAL’s facilities and expressed happiness with the handling qualities , advanced avionics and safety features of Dhruv during interactions with HAL instructors who flew training missions with them in India and Ecuador,” a statement from HAL said.
“Ecuadorian Air Force has successfully carried out several missions in their Dhruvs in their difficult terrains and has logged 860 hours. It appears from the reported statements attributed to top officials of the Ecuadorian Air force that the helicopter may have been maneuvered excessively. The built-in safety features have ensured that both the pilots walked away to safety without any major injuries.”
Though the reason for the crash is yet to ascertained, a previous crash incident in which the ALH Dhruv was involved had pointed defects in the composite tail-rotor of the 5.5-tonne chopper.
Refusing to comment on the reasons of the crash, the HAL statement said: “Dhruv helicopter has been designed for excellent handling qualities and crash worthiness and manufactured with advanced technologies. The helicopter has several safety features such as twin engines, dual flight control, redundancy in critical systems, self sealing fuel tanks, modern fire protection devices and a structure designed to ensure crashworthiness.”
The statement, while talking about the strenuous test Dhruv was put through, said the helicopter has carried out difficult missions such as high altitude operations in Siachen glacier in extremely inhospitable weather conditions, search and rescue in all terrains, flood relief and casualty evacuation.