Lok Sabha Question No. 1660 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-11-25
Subject: Dhruv Helicopters
Ministry: DEFENCE
Asked by: BALASUBRAMANIAM SENGUTTUVAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

## DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE PRODUCTION

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1660

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 25 TH  NOVEMBER, 2016

## DHRUV  HELICOPTERS

1660.  SHRI  B. SENGUTTUVAN:

Will the Minister of DEFENCE be pleased to state:

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- (a) whether Advanced Light Helicopters, Dhruv exported to Ecuador have sustained a series of crashes;
- (b) if  so,  whether  Ecuador  has  suspended  the  operation  of  said  helicopters  and grounded the entire fleet and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  Hindustan  Aeronautics  Limited  (HAL)  has  conducted  any  enquiry  into the alleged crash of accidents to find out its cause and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government of Ecuador has advanced any reason for the large number of crashes of the Dhruv copters and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether the  said  incident has  affected  the  export  potential  of  the  Dhruv  copters and if so, the details thereof and corrective measures taken in this regard?

## A    N    S    W    E    R

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

(DR. SUBHASH BHAMRE)

र  ा रा य मं ी

(डा. सुभाष भामरे)

- (a) Yes,  Madam.   Out  of  seven  Dhruv  helicopters  supplied  to  Ecuador, four (4) have crashed during the period October 2009 to January 2015.
- (b) Dhruv helicopters were operating normally until January 2015.  Post crashes in January 2015, Ecuador suspended operation of Dhruv helicopters.

- (c) HAL,  on  its  own,  deputed  its  experts  to  Ecuador  in  each  case  of accident.  Ecuador Government constituted Court of Inquiry (CoI) in each case.    Being  the  Original  Equipment  Manufacturer  (OEM),  HAL  also participated in the Court of Inquiry.

Court  of  Inquiry  reports  which  have  been  released  by  Ecuador

Government have concluded the cause of first two accidents as below:

- (i) FAE 604 : Pilot Error

- (ii) FAE 601 : Pilot Error

Two  other  Court  of  Inquiry  reports  have  not  been  released  by

Ecuador Government, citing confidentiality.  However, from the Flight Data Recorders  (FDR)  records  analysed  by  HAL  as  part  of  Court  of  Inquiry proceedings, the following causes of accidents have emerged:

- (i) FAE 603 : Probable cause is PAO - Pilot Associated Oscillation (human error).

- (ii)  FAE 605 : Probable cause  is 'Failure of Tail Drive Shaft Attributed  to  Maintenance  Lapse  by  Ecuadorian Team'.

- (d) Ecuador Government has not formally communicated to  HAL or its local representative in this regard.
- (e) The  accident  reports  released  by  the  Ecuador  Government  point  to pilot errors in the first two cases.

HAL  continues  to  pursue  export  of  Dhruv  helicopter  in  the  light  of enquires being received by the company.

The following corrective measures have been taken:

- To  increase  the  export  potential  in  global  market,  HAL  has approached European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for Certification of ALH Dhruv helicopter.

\]

- Long  Term  Onsite  Maintenance  Support  for  3-5  years  will  be proposed in future contracts.

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