General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and several other armed forces personnel died when their military helicopter crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.
Human error has been cited as the cause of death of the country’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat. A parliamentary committee constituted to investigate his death has cited human error as the reason behind the Mi-17 V5 helicopter crash that occurred on 8 December 2021. General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and several other armed forces personnel died when their military helicopter crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.
Report presented in Parliament
In a report presented in Parliament on Tuesday, the Standing Committee on Defence gave figures on the number of accidents of Indian Air Force aircraft during the 13th Defense Plan period. A total of 34 accidents took place, including nine accidents involving Indian Air Force aircraft in 2021-22 and 11 plane accidents in 2018-19. The report has a column titled ‘Reason’ in which ‘human error’ has been cited as the cause of the accident.
The 33rd accident listed in the report mentions the aircraft name as ‘Mi-17’, the date as ‘08.12.2021’ and the cause as ‘HE(A)’ or ‘human error (aircrew)’. The Defence Ministry told the committee that 34 investigations into these accidents have been conducted during this period.
According to the report, ‘The ministry also stated that the recommendations of these investigation committees involve a comprehensive review of processes, procedures, training, equipment, culture, operations, maintenance and governance with an aim to prevent recurrence of accidents.’
When and how did the incident happen?
8 December 2021 was a very sad day for the Indian Army and the country. On this day, the Indian Air Force’s MI-17 V5 helicopter was flying from Sulur Air Force Base in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu to the Defense Services Staff College in Wellington. Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 12 other armed forces personnel were on board the plane.
But, this trip turned into a tragic accident. Shortly after taking off from the airport, the helicopter crashed into the hills. General Rawat, his wife and 11 other personnel died instantly in this tragic incident. After this accident, Shaurya Chakra awardee Group Captain Varun Singh was the only survivor. He suffered serious injuries and was immediately admitted to the hospital for treatment. But unfortunately, he also died during treatment within a week.
