Lack of depth perception by the pilots could have contributed to the Helicopter crash that killed General Bipin Rawat, his wife, Madhulika and 12 others near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu last month. The Tri-services probe headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh is in its final stages and before the findings are made public, the legal processes shall have to be also completed. Reports published in some leading newspapers suggest that the crash may have occurred due to what is described in military parlance as “controlled flight into terrain (C-FIT) factor.” This means that a mishap takes place when the pilot gets disoriented or loses situational awareness and unintentionally hits the ground, a mountain, a tree or a water body or any other obstacle despite being in full control of the machine.
The Helicopter that took off from Sulur, went down, seven minutes before it was to land at the Wellington Staff College, where the Chief of Defence Staff was to address the officers. Air Force veterans are of the view that during such a short flight, such an error should not have normally taken place but did not rule out the possibility given the weather conditions that were prevalent. The flight data recorder and the black box of the Helicopter were recovered from the crash site and must have provided useful inputs to the probing team. It goes without saying that all aspects including internal and external sabotage must have been thoroughly examined by the tri-services panel to rule out any kind of foul play. Obviously, some new protocols regarding flights carrying VVIPs must have been reviewed to ensure that in future the core team and the senior most officers do not travel together to avert any kind of wrongdoing.
There was speculation to begin with that some external power could have had a hand in the crash but with such a high-level inquiry ascertaining the cause of the incident, this was both pre-mature and uncalled for. The Indian Armed Forces know how to protect their officers and borders and such conjectures, may fuel conspiracy theories but have to be substantiated by facts and evidence. Therefore, the media in particular must refrain from such irresponsible hypothesis and wait for the complete report to be out.
General Rawat was an outstanding soldier who was not scared to speak his mind out and had on several occasions, reiterated the country’s preparedness to even fight a two-front war, implying that our forces had the capability of taking on both Pakistan and China, if the need arose. He also had pointed out that China was the country’s greatest enemy at this juncture. General Rawat shall be greatly missed when the nation celebrates this year’s Republic Day where the might and prowess of our armed forces shall be on full public display. The Central government shall hopefully by then make the delayed announcement regarding his successor. Several names have been doing the rounds and General M.M.Naravane, the Army Chief and senior most amongst the three Service Chiefs, has emerged as the front runner. However, the official declaration would clear the air regarding the appointment.