Sunday's chopper crash in Uttarakhand was the fifth helicopter accident in the last six weeks that has triggered outrage and concern among people and has sent officials scrambling for answers.
Helicopter crashes or emergency landings are occurring at an alarming frequency on the Chardham yatra route in Uttarakhand. The Chardham yatra involves Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri shrines.
Social activist Anoop Nautiyal on Monday asked aviation regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) to halt helicopter operations on the Chardham Yatra route for the entire pilgrimage season this year, urging the government to build an infrastructure suitable for safe flying in the challenging Himalayan terrain.
"Since we have had five heli crashes in the past 6 weeks, why can't you simply put a complete stop on helicopter operations for this year's yatra season. This time should be utilised in preparing the much needed infrastructure for aero safety on the Char Dham Yatra route," Mr Nautiyal posted on X addressing the DGCA.
He emphasised that the lives of pilots and pilgrims are at risk with "no Air Traffic Control (ATC), no radars and no real-time weather updates".
Five adults, an infant and one crew member were on board the Aryan Aviation's Bell 407 helicopter operating in the "Shri Kedarnath Ji - Aryan Helipad, Guptkashi" sector that crashed on Sunday, the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement.
The helicopter took off from Guptkashi at 05:10 am and landed at Shri Kedarnath Ji Helipad at 05:18 am before departing again at 05:19 am for Guptkashi and is reported to have crashed near Gaurikund between 05:30 am and 05:45 am, the statement said.
A case has been registered against helicopter service operating firm Aryan Aviation Private Ltd for alleged negligence in connection with the chopper crash which killed all seven people on board, including a two-year-old child and the pilot.
The complaint states that Aryan Aviation was allotted the first slot from 6 am to 7 am for helicopter operations on June 15, while this accident happened before that at 5:30 am.
The first flying slot opens at 6 am.
Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami said it has been decided to set up a common "Command and Coordination Center" in Dehradun for better coordination and safe operation of helicopters.
Here's a look at previous accidents:
On May 8, a helicopter going to Gangotri Dham crashed in Uttarkashi district in which six people were killed.
On June 7, a helicopter going to Kedarnath had to make an emergency landing on the road due to a technical fault soon after take-off in which the pilot was injured but the five devotees on board were rescued safely.
On May 12, a helicopter returning from Badrinath to Sersi with pilgrims on board had to make an emergency landing in a school playground in Ukhimath due to poor visibility. All pilgrims were safe.
On May 17, a heli ambulance from AIIMS Rishikesh crash-landed near the Kedarnath helipad in Uttarakhand due to damage to its rear part. Fortunately, all three occupants on board - a doctor, a pilot, and a medical staff member - escaped unharmed
In contrast to last 14 years, 13 helicopter accidents have happened in the Kedarnath Valley in which 41 people have died.
A helicopter operator, who previously ran a helicopter service in Kedarnath valley, pointed out that the companies providing helicopter services here keep the helicopter circling around Kedarnath without stopping, suggesting it as one of the reasons behind the rise in accidents. The operator did not wish to be named.
The companies that provide service in the Kedarnath valley are given Shuttle Flying Slots every 10 days by the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA).
According to these shuttle flying slots, the aviation companies fly their helicopters in the Kedarnath valley and take the devotees for the visit and darshan of Kedarnath Dham.
"The helicopter flights to Kedarnath are conducted as per DGCA norms i.e. SOP. An aviation company has permission to fly three times in an hour from Guptkashi and an aviation company flies four times in an hour from Phata and Sirsi," said UCADA CEO Sonika.
The officer said that the ATC has a weather station in Kedarnath, the weather office IMD is also going to set up its station there and "we also have weather surveillance cameras", adding that weather is so unpredictable and the terrain so difficult that safety measures will have to be put in place.
How many trips are helicopter companies allowed to make?
The companies operate from three helipads in Kedarnath Dham. Helicopter services run from Guptkashi, Phata, Sirsi helipads.
Nine aviation companies are providing services in Kedarnath valley and each company gets 7 to 8 hours flying slots. In this 8-hour slot, the helicopter gets 25 minutes for refuelling after every hour. Apart from this, each company has two pilots as per the time given to the company. If 8-hour flying slots are given, then one pilot will fly for 4 hours and the other for 4 hours. If 7-hour flying slots is given, then one pilot will fly for 3:30 hours and the other will fly for 3:30 hours. Apart from this, when the helicopter returns after completing the last flying slot, it is mandatory to have 100 litres of fuel in it, according to the DGCA rules.
NDTV has learnt that an aviation company gets approximately 24 trips a day from Guptkashi, 32 trips a day from Phata and approximately 32 trips a day from Sirsi.
According to the DGCA rules, 6 helicopters can fly at a time in Kedarnath valley. After the completion of the time of three helicopters, three more helicopters can fly, that is, 6 helicopters can fly regularly in Kedarnath valley at a time, in which 6 helicopters will fly towards Kedarnath and three helicopters will fly back from Kedarnath to Guptkashi Phata and Sirsi.
A former helicopter operator told NDTV that Kedarnath valley is the most difficult flying zone for helicopters because the weather mostly turns bad from Rambada to Jungle Chatti or there is fog and clouds in the valley which make it difficult to fly the helicopter.
Additionally, single engine helicopters fly here and they have to fly in the valley itself because the wind flows downwards from Kedarnath to Gauri Kund and Sonprayag.
All the four dhams in Uttarakhand are in the Himalayan region above 3,000 meters, where the weather creates the biggest problem for the helicopters.
What's the weight that helicopters can carry?
The helicopters are not allowed to take off with a full tank. Also, the weight of passengers cannot exceed 380 kg and the luggage of each passenger should not be more than 2 kg.
One of the major reasons for the accidents is that there is no Air Traffic Control System due to which there is a lot of difficulty in monitoring the helicopter service. Also, there is no weather office here so that information about bad weather can be immediately given to the helicopter pilots, which can help in preventing these accidents.
"Officers of DGCA and other agencies will be permanently placed here. An integrated command control coordination and communication centre will be developed here," said Anand Vardhan, Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand.
