The Indian Air Force (IAF) has launched an investigation into how a Leonardo AW119 helicopter came to be dropped while being carried beneath a larger Mi-17 military rotorcraft. Owned by charter operator Kestrel Aviation, the AW119 was being airlifted on Saturday from Kedarnath in the mountainous northern state of Uttarakhand after becoming unserviceable.
According to an IAF spokesperson, the AW119 started to oscillate in a hazardous way, forcing the military pilots to ditch the load into the Mandakini River in an unpopulated area. The aircraft had been stranded at Kedarnath—which is 11,755 feet msl—since May after a charter flight carrying pilgrims to religious shrines in the Himalayan mountains made an emergency landing.
The Mi-17 crew were attempting to transport the helicopter around 100 nm to the airport at Gauchar, which is used as a forward operating base for the Indian military for disaster management operations, such as floods and landslides. It also serves as a gateway for pilgrims visiting high-altitude shrines, with helicopter flights being an alternative to trekking on foot to locations that are cut off by snowfall for around six months of the year.
It is not unusual for private air charter companies to seek help from the IAF if all other means to rescue stranded aircraft fail. These missions have to be approved by India’s Ministry of Defence, with costs covered by the company needing assistance.
Mumbai-based Kestrel Aviation specializes in flights for pilgrims and has operated more than 60,000 trips since the company was formed in 2008. It holds Indian Part 145 approval for maintenance work.
In a separate incident, a HAL Advanced Light Helicopter operated by the Indian Coast Guard was forced to ditch into the Arabian Sea on Monday during a medical evacuation mission. The aircraft wreckage has been located, with one person recovered and three still missing. It was flying offshore from Porbandar in Gujarat state on India’s East Coast.