.jpg) VT-APG, the helicopter involved in the accident | |
| Occurrence | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2 September 2009 (2009-09-02) |
| Summary | Spatial disorientation resulting from a mechanical failure,pilot error |
| Site | Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Bell 430 |
| Operator | Andhra Pradesh Government |
| Registration | VT-APG |
| Flight origin | Begumpet airport, India |
| Destination | Anuppalle helipad |
| Occupants | 5 |
| Fatalities | 5 |
| Survivors | 0 |
The2009 Andhra Pradesh helicopter crash occurred on 2 September 2009 near Rudrakonda Hill, 40 nautical miles (74 km) fromKurnool,Andhra Pradesh, India. The helicopter was aBell 430 helicopter owned by the Andhra Pradesh Government, and registered VT-APG. Fatalities includedY. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the thenChief Minister of Andhra Pradesh among others.[1][2]
The Puli 430 helicopter took off fromBegumpet Airport, Hyderabad, and soon encountered bad weather. The official accident report states that the aircraft's weather radar was red, meaning that the weather was extreme.[citation needed] The flight crew decided to fly slightly left of their planned route.[citation needed] The pilots soon noticed that the weather was getting worse, and agreed that they would turn left after crossingKrishna River.Begumpet andShamshabadAir traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft at 9:02 amIST while it was passing through the denseNallamala Forest area.[citation needed]
Shortly after 09:20 am IST, the flight crew encountered a problem with the transmission oil pressure. The pilots became engaged in finding out emergency checklist procedures for the transmission oil pressure, but were unsuccessful.[citation needed]
Soon after, the co-pilot continually called out "go around", likely indicating that he thought the aircraft would soon crash into something. During the last 14 seconds, the rate of descent was extremely high. Thereafter the helicopter crashed due to loss of control resulting in high rate of descent in down draught. The helicopter impacted the ground in a steep left bank and all occupants on board died due to crash injuries.[3]
The state government of Andhra Pradesh and theGovernment of India launched one of the largest search and rescue operations in the history of the country. The state's security officials mentioned that bad weather was hindering the search and rescue efforts.[4] TheHome Ministry of India dispatched 5000CRPF soldiers for the operation[5][6] while theDefence Ministry of India ordered theIndian Air Force to comb the area using low altitude planes and theSukhoi-30MKI equipped withthermal imaging systems.[7] In addition,police personnel from six districts were involved in the ground search. Andhra Pradesh's elite anti-Naxal troops,Greyhounds, were also deployed in the area, owing to their extreme familiarity with the jungle terrain of the area. Local tribal residents from this part of the state assisted with the search mission. Patrol parties also combed theKrishna River for the remains of the helicopter.[8]ISRO'sRISAT-2 satellite was also deployed to search the area,[9] but the 41 high-resolution images of the area were unable to trace the helicopter.[10]
The wreckage of the helicopter was finally spotted by an IAFMi-8 helicopter at 08:20 am IST the following day, less than 24 hours after contact was lost with the aircraft.[11]
TheIndian Prime Minister's Office confirmed the helicopter's crash on the morning of 3 September and the death of all aboard, including that ofY. S. Rajasekhara Reddy.[12][13] TheDirector General of Police said that the bodies of Reddy and others were charred beyond recognition and had to be identified on the basis of clothing.[14] The autopsy of all the bodies was carried out atKurnool Medical College.[15]
Although the sparsely populated forest area is considered to be stronghold of the outlawedNaxal communist insurgents, theNational Security Advisor of India ruled out the possibility of the Naxals bringing down the helicopter.[16]
The investigation eventually concluded that the factors that caused that crash included the fact that the crew became fixated for more than six minutes in trying to find the reason behind the problem with their transmission oil pressure system, and they became distracted from the worsening weather. They also noted that the flight crew was flying inInstrument meteorological conditions whereas the flight plan was cleared forVFR flying, and the flight crew never discussed the bad weather, diverting, or returning to base.[3]