This news article reports on the grounding of the indigenous Dhruv advanced light helicopter by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) following a recent crash.
Key takeaways:
HAL has advised civilian operators to ground their Dhruv helicopters until the cause of the recent crash in Porbandar is determined.
The helicopter involved in the accident reportedly did not respond to pilot control inputs in the final seconds before the crash.
This is the third Dhruv crash in the past two years, raising concerns about the helicopter's safety record.
The HAL Dhruv is a utility helicopter designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in November 1984.
The helicopter first flew in 1992; its development was prolonged due to multiple factors including the Indian Army's requirement for design changes, budget restrictions, and sanctions placed on India following the 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests.
The name comes from a Sanskrit origin word dhruv which means unshakeable or firm
Dhruv entered service in 2002.
It is designed to meet the requirement of both military and civil operators, with military variants of the helicopter being developed for the Indian Armed Forces, while a variant for civilian/commercial use has also been developed.
Military versions in production include transport, utility, reconnaissance and medical evacuation variants.
As of January 2024, more than 400 Dhruvs had been produced for domestic and export markets logging more than 340,000 flying hours
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