New Delhi: The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will investigate the helicopter crash in Uttarakhand that killed six people on Friday, according to a senior official.
Six people, including the pilot, died in the accident. The helicopter, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation, crashed into a hillside near Joshimath about an hour after taking off from Badrinath while travelling to Dehradun.
The senior official told PTI that an AAIB team had already left for the crash site to investigate the accident.
In a statement, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it had also dispatched a team to Dehradun to conduct a preliminary and regulatory assessment.
The helicopter, bearing registration number VT-HCX and identified as an AS350B3, crashed in a forest area near Chai village in Joshimath.
"The helicopter got airborne from Badrinath helipad at 1314 hrs and was en route to Sahastradhara helipad (Dehradun) with one pilot and five passengers onboard.
"The wreckage of the crash has been located, and the search and rescue operations are under progress," the DGCA statement said.
Badrinath is one of the four shrines that make up Uttarakhand's Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. Yamunotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath are the other three.
The crash comes amid concerns over helicopter safety in the Char Dham sector. In an accident investigation report released earlier this month, the AAIB said there had been eight helicopter accidents in the region between 2015 and 2025, with most attributed to flight crews failing to follow standard operating procedures.
An analysis of the data by the bureau recorded nine occurrences during the 10-year period, comprising eight accidents and one serious incident. It also found that at least one accident or serious incident had occurred every year from 2022 onwards.
"Out of these 8 accidents, 5 accidents were fatal. There was no accident in 2015 & 2016, as the Char Dham operations during that time were very limited.
"From the year 2017 to 2019, there were 2 accidents, out of which 1 was fatal. In the years 2020 & 2021, the operations were very limited owing to COVID-19 protocols and no accidents were reported during this period," the AAIB said in its final report on a helicopter crash in Uttarakhand that killed seven people in June last year.