India’s indigenously developed Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), operated by all the wings of its military and positioned as a low-cost alternative to Western multi-utility helicopters, has turned into an aircraft of concern for the country due to recurrent crashes.
In the latest incident, an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) belonging to the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) crashed in Porbandar, Gujarat, on January 5. The crash resulted in the death of three crew members onboard the aircraft, including two pilots and an aircrew diver.
As per reports, the chopper was returning from a routine training sortie when it crashed while trying to land on the Porbandar airport runway. The exact cause of the fatal accident is not known at the moment and an inquiry has been ordered by the Coast Guard. A video of the aircraft bursting into flames has been published on social media.
“An ALH Mk-III of the ICG met with an accident at Porbandar airport runway in Gujarat at 1215 hrs on January 05, 2025. The ICG helicopter, with two pilots and one aircrew diver, was on a routine training sortie. The crew was shifted to Government Hospital, Porbandar, where they were declared dead,” the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said in a statement. The Indian Coast Guard has temporarily grounded the fleet of Dhruv ALH helos for safety inspections.
Developed by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the ALH Dhruv is a twin-engine, multi-role, multi-mission new-generation helicopter in the 5.5-tonne weight class. By January 2024, 400 ALH helicopters had been produced.
The latest crash is the third incident to occur in over four months, once again raising questions over the safety and efficacy of this indigenously developed chopper.
Earlier in September 2024, an ALH Dhruv belonging to the ICG ditched at sea off the Gujarat coast as it approached an Indian-flagged motor tanker, Hari Leela, about 45 kilometers from Porbandar, killing its two pilots.
Less than a month later, in October 2024, another ALH Dhruv (of the Indian Air Force) had to make an emergency landing while on a flood relief operation due to a technical snag. This particular chopper was deployed for flood relief operations in Bihar.
A spate of fatal crashes and the resulting loss of lives has triggered widespread outrage on social media, with several commentators questioning the rationale behind operating a helicopter involved in multiple accidents.
Popular journalist Vishnu Som took to social media site X to voice his anguish: “4 highly trained ALH pilots dead in 2 Coast Guard chopper crashes in 4 months. The Dhruv helicopter, despite its splendid high-altitude performance specs, is now the problem child of Indian military aviation – Military air crash investigation reports must be transparently released to explain the cause of these fatal accidents.”
Another journalist and author of the book ‘Seven Heroes of 1971,’ Man Aman Singh Chinna, wrote on X: “Military aviation crash reports must not be kept hidden. Sunlight is the biggest disinfectant. These are our sons and brothers being lost. We need to know why.”
Several netizens and Indian military bloggers also called on the ICG and other services to ground all the remaining ALH Dhruv in its fleet. They implored the manufacturer to carry out requisite checks.
In 2023, the entire fleet of around 330 twin-engine ALHs in the armed forces had to be grounded a few times after four major accidents. That year, expert teams from HAL conducted a thorough safety inspection of the aircraft. They discovered problems with the hydraulics and control rod failure, affecting the rotor blades’ power input. This was followed by a push to replace the defective rods in each ALH with new ones.
A crucial part of the helicopter’s flight control system, the control rod in a gearbox serves several purposes, including transmitting the pilot’s control inputs to the main rotor and tail rotor systems, allowing the pilot to control the pitch of the main and tail rotors, and enabling the pilot to move the helicopter in the desired direction. These rods allow pilots to control the helicopter’s motion, and their failure could significantly reduce the power input to the rotor blades and cause accidents.
The control rod in ALH is made of aluminum, and HAL decided to replace it with steel control rods in some helicopters. As per the latest reports, all military ALHs have had their collective control rod and the two other rods (lateral and longitudinal) replaced.
Nevertheless, the Advanced Light Helicopter has had a troubled and controversial past. Over the past five years, the multi-mission helicopter has been a part of more than fifteen accidents, according to reports.
String Of Accidents Plague ALH
The helicopter has been engaged in several accidents in recent years, some of them fatal. One of the worst crashes involving the helicopter occurred in July 2014, near Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh, and claimed the lives of its seven-member crew.
Another incident occurred in October 2019, when an ALH crashed in the Poonch area in Jammu, injuring Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, a former commander of the Northern Army, along with eight other people.
An Indian Army aviation ALH MK IV variant helicopter crashed near Migging in Arunachal Pradesh in October 2022, killing all five on board.
In 2023, the entire fleet of twin-engine ALHs in the armed forces had to be grounded a few times after four major accidents. The Army, Indian Air Force, and Navy conducted checks and grounded their respective ALH fleets in March 2023. This came after a Navy ALH experienced a “loss of power” and was forced to ditch or land the helicopter on the water.
On May 4, 2023, two Indian Army pilots lost their lives in an ALH crash in Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Army conducted a thorough safety check and grounded its fleet of 170 ALHs at the time. Then came the two incidents of September and October last year.
When the Indian military started inducting the Indigenous helicopter, it was seen as the ushering of a new era of Indigenous military aviation. The ALH has been exported to several nations and has undergone upgrades to develop newer, more advanced variants.
Compared to the first ALH iteration, the ALH MK III features several upgrades. The primary distinction is that it is propelled by a Shakti engine, which was created through a collaboration between HAL and Safran, a French engine manufacturer. It features a glass cockpit, an electro-optical payload, a Night Vision system, and an advanced marine patrol radar. The MK III has a new electronic warfare (EW) suite, warning systems, automatic chaff and flare dispensers, and an improved vibration control system.
The MK IV variant is the armed version of the ALH called ‘Rudra.’ It is meant for attack, close air support, and high-altitude operations. However, these upgrades have not prevented crashes.
This indigenous helicopter also suffered a debacle in Ecuador. In what was considered a major turning point for India’s indigenous defense industry, Ecuador bought seven Dhruv helicopters from HAL starting in 2009. But the joy and hope were quickly dashed when one of the first helicopters crashed in October 2009, prompting the South American nation to declare it unfit for operation.
After an accident inquiry backed by HAL, it was concluded that the aircraft failed due to a pilot error. Following the inquiry, Ecuador reversed its decision to return the helicopters. However, in a reversal of fortune, by 2015, four of the seven ALHs Ecuador had purchased had crashed.
Indian Navy pilots have voiced their displeasure with HAL, pointing to problems like poor quality, careless engineering, and maintenance issues with ALHs.
The latest incident comes at a time when India is promoting the export of its indigenously developed military platforms, including its Advanced Light Helicopter. However, the frequent crashes have severely tarnished its reputation and essentially put a roadblock to its export potential.
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