The issue with the crash landing of the Army Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH)-MKIII on May 4 was not related to the control rods, unlike in earlier cases, but a different problem which is still being ascertained, it has been learnt. Meanwhile, the Army has grounded its ALH fleet once again for precautionary checks following the incident.
“The fleet has been grounded as a precaution as required checks are being carried out,” a defence source said. In this case, it was not the control rods, but some other issue, the source stated.
The three services and the Coast Guard had all grounded their ALH fleets after a Navy ALH-MkIII was ditched at sea on March 8, 2023, followed by a Coast Guard ALH also suffering an incident. The entire fleet was put through extensive checks by teams from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and only a few batches were recently cleared to fly.
