Suspension of heli services for Char Dham ends, no sorties made due to bad weather

Pilots flying in the Char Dham sector have to face many challenges including fickle weather, high altitudes and narrow valleys.

The suspension of heli services on the Char Dham route, ordered after a helicopter crash two days ago, ended on Tuesday but no helicopter took off for Kedarnath due to bad weather in the Kedar Valley, an official said.

Heli services on the Char Dham route had been suspended for two days after the helicopter operated by Aryan Aviation crashed near Kedarnath early on Sunday morning amid low visibility, killing all seven persons on board.

The government had given permission for helicopter operations from Tuesday but due to unfavourable weather conditions, helicopters did not take off for Kedarnath, Rudraprayag's District Tourism Officer and Heli Service Nodal Officer Rahul Chaubey said.

Announcing the suspension, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had said heli operations will be resumed on the route only after properly reviewing the situation.

Bad weather is said to have been one of the major factors behind the Sunday crash.

Pilots flying in the Char Dham sector have to face many challenges including fickle weather, high altitudes and narrow valleys.

After the Sunday incident, the Civil Aviation Ministry said it has suspended the operations of Aryan Aviation for the Char Dham Yatra and has directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to immediately post officers from airworthiness, safety and operations to actively oversee all helicopter activity in the Kedarnath Valley.

It also suspended the licences of two pilots of TransBharat Aviation for six months as their choppers were found to have been airborne under similar unsuitable weather conditions.

The ministry said it has asked the DGCA to rigorously review the functioning of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) command-and-control room.