Kedarnath Helicopter Crash: Company Managers Booked After Crash that ‘Tilted, Drifted Backwards, Then…’ Causes of Tragic Accident Unveiled

Rudraprayag/Guptkashi : A devastating helicopter accident occurred in the dense forests of Gauri Mai Khark near Gaurikund, close to Guptkashi in Rudraprayag district, resulting in the death of seven people, including the pilot. The chopper, operated by Aryan Heli Aviation, was returning from Kedarnath early Sunday morning when it crashed into trees due to severely compromised visibility caused by bad weather. Authorities have now filed First Information Reports (FIRs) against two company managers for violations of aviation regulations.

Timeline of Tragedy

• 05:11 AM – The helicopter took off from the Kedarnath helipad with six passengers onboard, heading towards Guptkashi.
• 05:21 AM – It passed Valley Point, ascending further along the Guptkashi route.
• 05:24 AM – As it reached the Gauri Mai Khark area near Gaurikund, dense fog enveloped the aircraft, dropping visibility to near zero. The helicopter then reportedly veered right, drifted backward, and struck a tall tree before plummeting to the forest floor amidst a burst of fire.

Witnesses from the nearby hamlet, including Nepali-origin laborers Sharmila and her sister Sanju, described the chilling scene. “It tilted, drifted backward, then crashed,” said Sharmila. She recalled that a young girl fell from the wreckage and hit a rock. “By the time the smoke cleared, nothing was moving,” one witness said.

Victims Named

• Lt. Col. Rajveer Singh Chauhan (Retd.), Pilot, Shastri Nagar, Jaipur.
• Rajkumar Suresh Jaiswal (41) and wife Shraddha Jaiswal (35) from Maharashtra.
• Their daughter, approximately 23 months old.
• Vikram Singh Rawat (46), Resident of Ransi village, Ukhimath, Rudraprayag.
• Vinod Devi (66) and Tushti Singh (19) from Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh.

All seven were declared dead on-site and transported first to the Gaurikund mortuary and then to Rudraprayag Civil Hospital.

Emergency Response

Once news broke around 06:13 AM, authorities deployed NDRF, SDRF, DDRF, local police, and Himalayan rescue units. Rescue teams battled challenging terrain and zero visibility to reach the crash site nearly two hours later. The charred wreckage provided grim confirmation of the fatalities.

Grounds for Legal Action Against Managers

A formal complaint filed by the Fatah revenue sub-inspector with Sonprayag police accused Aryan Aviation’s base manager Vikas Tomar and accounting manager Kaushik Pathak of gross negligence and violating DGCA and UKADA Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Key allegations:

• Flight clearance for Kedarnath-Guptkashi Slot was scheduled for 06:00–07:00 AM, but the flight departed at 05:11 AM—nearly 50 minutes early.
• Departure before the allotted time slot hindered proper weather and visibility assessments.
• The complaint invokes IPC section 105/2025, Indian Justice Code 2023, and Section 10 of the Aircraft Act, 1934.

Police confirmed that legal proceedings are already underway.

Weather’s Role vs. Procedural Violations

Meteorologists reported extremely low visibility, often dropping to less than 100 meters in the crash zone. The DGCA’s Mayday report from the Guptkashi helibase confirmed that the site was under dense fog conditions at the accident time. However, nearly all miscalculations stemmed from launching the flight before the approved time—as mandated by the SOP.

Thus, aviation oversight agencies assert that neither adverse weather nor visibility alone should have compromised safety—had protocols been followed.

DGCA Suspends Company and Licenses

In light of this incident, the DGCA has:

1. Immediately suspended Aryan Aviation’s flight operations in the 4-Dham region for at least two days.
2. Suspended licenses of two pilots from Trans Bharat Aviation for operating during similar low visibility.
3. Seized the helicopter’s Black Box and initiated a full-scale investigation.

Flight safety experts argue this accident adds to a troubling pattern of helicopter crashes during Char Dham operations, underscoring systemic failures rather than isolated errors.

Government Reaction and Compensation Announcement

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed profound grief, announced ₹5 lakh compensation per victim to the families, and demanded strict action under DGCA norms. He emphasized that life safety must never be compromised.

Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj described the accident as “heart-wrenchingly unfortunate,” stressing that despite the weather being the apparent cause, government probing will uncover underlying negligence.

Rookie Operations and Sky Safety

A growing morale among aviation safety experts calls for:

• Restricting flights in severely low visibility, especially in high-altitude terrain.
• Ensuring licensed pilots with Himalayan flying experience man such flights exclusively.
• Strict adherence to flight slot timing and pre-flight weather briefing mandates.

In this case, the pilot may have lacked adequate experience navigating icing and whiteout conditions, while the managerial decision to fly ahead of schedule directly instigated tragedy.

What’s Next?

DGCA’s probe will include:

• Technical analysis of Black Box and cockpit voice recordings.
• Forensics examining impact pattern, flap and engine controls at crash site.
• Weather log verification and timeline comparison between assigned slot and departure time.
• Reviewing SOP violations and accountability chain—from base managers to helibase officials.

A Complex Tragedy of Nature and Negligence

The Kedarnath helicopter crash tragically combines the unpredictable fury of Himalayan weather and apparent procedural failures by Aryan Aviation’s management. As seven lives, including that of a toddler, were lost, this incident compels a renewed call for aviation safety reforms in pilgrimage zones—where nature’s wrath and inadequate oversight can become a deadly cocktail.

The unfolding DGCA investigation and pending criminal cases will determine whether aviation negligence or human error played a larger role than the fog, but early evidence points to a avoidable disaster in deviance from standard protocol.