A tri-service Court of Inquiry has submitted its preliminary findings into the Mi-17 V5 helicopter crash that killed the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat, and 12 others on December 8.
According to a Ministry of Defence (MoD) statement on Friday, “The inquiry team analysed the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), besides questioning all available witnesses to determine the most probable cause of the accident.”
“The Court of Inquiry has ruled out mechanical failure, sabotage or negligence as a cause of the accident. The accident was a result of entry into clouds due to unexpected change in weather conditions in the valley. This led to spatial disorientation of the pilot resulting in Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT),” said the Court of Inquiry.
