Kedarnath chopper crash: 2 senior officials of helicopter firm booked for negligence

Dehradun: Two senior officials of helicopter service operating firm Aryan Aviation Private Ltd have been booked for alleged negligence leading to the chopper crash near Kedarnath that killed all seven on board, including a two-year-old and the pilot.

The Bell 407 helicopter that crashed on Sunday due to bad weather in the forests of Gauri Mai Khark between Gaurikund and Triyuginarayan belonged to Aryan Aviation Private Limited.

A case has been registered against Aryan Aviation's accountable manager Kaushik Pathak and manager Vikas Tomar at Sonprayag police station under Section 105 of the BNS (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and Section 10 of the Aircraft Act 1934 which deals with penalties for violating rules made under the Act, particularly those related to the carriage of dangerous goods or providing false information about them, police said.

The case was registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by Revenue Police Sub Inspector Rajiv Nakholia posted at Phata, a small town located near the Himalayan temple.

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.

In addition, despite the sky being cloudy and foggy since morning, the weather conditions were not checked before the helicopter took off.

The complaint states that the standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) was ignored while the company managers knew very well that doing so could cause loss of life and property.

The complaint said by doing so, Aryan Aviation Pvt Ltd and its managers showed gross negligence towards their responsibilities, due to which the crash occurred.