New Delhi (TIP)- The government has cleared the resumption of operations of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force versions of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv fleet, which was grounded for four months, officials said on Thursday.
The decision follows recommendations from a Defect Investigation (DI) Committee that reviewed technical issues after one of its choppers was involved in a crash in Gujarat in January.
However, the naval version of the chopper will remain grounded, officials said.
A time-bound plan for restarting operations has been agreed upon between the armed forces and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the helicopter’s manufacturer.
The entire fleet of over 330 Dhruv helicopters operated by the Army, Navy, the Air Force and the Coast Guard was grounded after a Dhruv helicopter of the Coast Guard crashed at Gujarat’s Porbandar airport runway on January 5.
Two pilots and an aircrew diver of the chopper were killed in the incident.
The indigenously designed and developed ALH Dhruv is a twin-engine, multi-role and multi-mission new-generation helicopter in the 5.5-ton weight class.