The Tri-Services Court of Inquiry formed to probe the Mi17 chopper crash, involving Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and twelve other armed forces personnel on December 8, has ruled out mechanical failure, sabotage or negligence as a cause of the accident.
“The accident was a result of entry into clouds due to unexpected change in weather conditions in the valley. This led to spatial disorientation of the pilot resulting in controlled flight into terrain,” said the court of inquiry, headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding in Chief of the Training Command.
“Based on its findings, the Court of Inquiry has made certain recommendations which are being reviewed,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
The inquiry team analysed the Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder besides questioning all available witnesses to determine the most probable cause of the accident.
The inquiry team had recently submitted its preliminary findings to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Gen Rawat, India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), his wife Madhulika, and 12 others were killed when the IAF chopper crashed near Cooonor in Tamil Nadu.