Decision On Resuming Dhruv Fleet Operations To Be Taken In 3 Weeks, Says HAL Chief

A crash investigation committee is probing the January ALH Dhruv helicopter crash that resulted in temporary grounding of all 330 Advanced Light Helicopters.

The decision to resume the operation of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv fleet will be taken after the probe committee investigating a crash in Gujarat last month submits its report. 

On January 5, an Indian Coast Guard ALH Dhruv MK III crashed at Gujarat's Porbandar Airport, killing three crew members. Responding to the accident, Hindustan Aeronautics Limiter was directed to temporarily ground all 330 Dhruv helicopters as a probe was launched, including a technical review of the helicopters. 

A committee headed by Air Marshal Vibhas Pande, a former chief of the Indian Air Force Maintenance Command, was constituted to provide input on the maintenance of Coast Guard Helicopters. 

Addressing a press conference during Aero India 2025 at Yelahanka Air Force base in Bengaluru on Tuesday, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) chairman DK Sunil said they are evaluating whether the crash occurred due to specific helicopter problems or if there were any general defects, reported The Indian Express. 

“It was an unfortunate incident … The Dhruv fleet has completed over four lakh hours of flying," he said. 

The HAL chief further said the Defect Investigation Team is scheduled to submit its report in three weeks. "We will further take a call on the clearance,” he added. 

Sunil informed that 28 helicopter crashes have taken place in the last 25 years of which 13 were due to technical reasons, 13 were due to human errors, and two were unknown. 

"We also had meetings with the Indian Coast Guard to evaluate the maintenance of these helicopters. To the prima facie in the 5 January incident, a fracture was detected in the swash plate of the helicopter. We will take a call on resuming operations of the ALH,” he said. 

“We are also looking into the training and maintenance of the personnel who are part of Dhruv fleet,” he added.

The Indigenous helicopter fleet is operated by all the wings of the Indian military and is considered a low-cost alternative to Western multi-utility helicopters.