Crash of Helicopter Manufactured by HAL

An Advanced Light Helicopter (Dhruv) sold to Ecuadorian Air Force by HAL crashed in Quito during a military parade injuring two of its pilots, recently.

Ecuadorian Air Force have successfully carried out several missions on Dhruv helicopters in their difficult terrains.

As per the reported statements, it appears that the helicopter may have been manoeuvred excessively. The built-in safety features ensured that both the pilots walked away without any major injuries after crash landing.

HAL has assured the Ecuadorian Government that HAL will meet all the contractual obligations and are committed to provide full support required by Ecuadorian Air Force. There have been no indications that existing potential customers have viewed this accident as a setback on Dhruv helicopters’ capabilities.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri MM Pallam Raju in a written reply to Shri NR Govindarajar in Rajya Sabha

Source: Indian Ministry of Defence; issued Dec. 2, 2009