We're Not Responsible For 3 Of 4 Recent Dhruv Chopper Crashes: HAL Chief To NDTV

Three of the four Dhruv helicopter crashes in the Indian Navy and Coast Guard, which have happened since 2023, have not been caused by manufacturing or design defects by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, says Dr. DK Sunil, the Chairman and Managing Director of HAL.

Frequent crashes of the HAL Dhruv chopper, a workhorse across the armed forces, have resulted in frequent fleet-wide groundings pending investigations. In January this year, the Dhruv fleet was grounded for the third time since 2023. There are approximately 338 Dhruv choppers in service. The Army and Air Force Dhruvs have since been cleared to fly.  

"Out of the four crashes that have happened, three in the Coast Guard and one in the Navy, three of them are because of other reasons. It is not manufacturing; it is not related to the design. There were issues either related to maintenance or in terms of the operation," said Dr. Sunil in an exclusive interview with NDTV. 

However, in the most recent crash of a Coast Guard-operated Dhruv on January 5, 2025, a fracture of a key component, a Non-Rotating Swashplate Bearing (NRSB), was detected. "In the latest (crash) that we had in the Coast Guard, we had a fracture of the NRSB - that is something where we have a defect investigation committee which has gone into it. We saw a very clear distinction - the Army and the Air Force helicopters did not have this kind of defect, so we cleared them. They are flying now."

A Non-Rotating Swashplate Bearing in a helicopter is a component in the helicopter's rotor system. This lies within the swashplate assembly, which is a mechanical component of the rotor system. The NRSB controls the pitch of the rotor blades to manage lift, direction, and stability of the helicopter. 

"We brought in all the gearboxes and we had a thorough check to see if there was any cracks. And we found that there was nothing in the Army and Air Force. In the Naval variant, we have looked at whether it was corrosion, stress, and so on. We also did deck landings. The usage pattern was different from the Air Force and the Army. So, we went to Vizag and did deck landings under rough sea conditions," says the HAL Chairman. "That data has come now. The defect investigation committee is going to meet shortly. I think now, we will get a picture of what is the root cause and what we need to do. The defect investigation we should be able to close this month and then we will start to see if there is a modification or a one-time check, we will start that immediately."

However, a return of all Navy and Coast Guard choppers to service is still months away since gearboxes in each chopper will need to be inspected and cleared for use. 

"It will be a few months (before the entire fleet is up in the air) is my expectation. This variant [operated by the Navy and Coast Guard) - there are about 29 of them. Coast Guard has lost 3, and the Navy has lost 1. At the rate of 4-5 gearboxes per month, we should be able to do it in six to seven months."

The Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, an indigenous multi-role platform developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), has faced a series of accidents in 2024-2025, particularly among maritime operators - the Navy and Coast Guard. 

Three crashes involving Coast Guard Dhruv Mk III variant, delivered as recently as 2022-2023, have highlighted what were thought to be persistent reliability issues. 

On 8 March 2023, a Navy Dhruv MK III naval variant made an emergency water landing off the coast of Mumbai, prompting the navy to ground the aircraft pending further investigation. All three crew members were rescued. Before the crash, the crew experienced a "sudden loss of power and rapid loss of height."

On March 26, 2023, an ALH Dhruv Mk III of the Coast Guard crashed near Kochi International Airport during a training flight. All crew members survived.

On September 2, 2024, a helicopter of 835 Squadron of the Coast Guard was forced to ditch (make an emergency landing in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Porbandar in Gujarat. At the time, the helicopter was deployed on a medical evacuation mission to rescue a crew member from a ship who was injured. This chopper encountered technical difficulties and ditched at sea. Sadly, both pilots were killed, with a third member of the crew going missing. The bodies of all three Coast Guard personnel aboard the chopper were ultimately recovered. There were no survivors. This Coast Guard Dhruv had been in service for barely two years. 

On January 5, 2025, another Mk III chopper from the same Coast Guard squadron crashed during a training flight at the Porbandar Air Enclave. Two pilots and an aircrew diver were killed after the helicopter burst into flames on the runway. Reports suggest that the pilots encountered unresponsive controls, with questions being raised on a possible actuator or transmission failure. 

These accidents, which claimed at least six lives, prompted immediate action, with the January 2025 Porbandar crash triggering a full suspension of the ALH fleet across the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. This was the third major grounding of Dhruv choppers, a workhorse across the armed forces, since 2023.