Six Killed as Trans Bharat Aviation Helicopter Crashes on Badrinath-Dehradun Route

Six people were killed on Friday afternoon when a helicopter traveling from Badrinath to Dehradun crashed near Joshimath, Uttarakhand disaster management officials reported. The helicopter, belonging to Trans Bharat Aviation, struck a hillside near the JP Power House. The private civilian helicopter, with call sign VT-HCX, had taken off from the Badrinath helipad at 1:14 PM, carrying a pilot and five passengers from Bengaluru, Karnataka, en route to the Sahastradhara heliport in Dehradun.

Around 1:30 PM, while navigating the Joshimath valley, the helicopter experienced a complete communications blackout, losing both tracking systems and radio contact with air traffic control. Local residents near Chai village reported hearing a loud sound and seeing thick smoke around 2:20 PM, confirming the crash into a hillside behind the Hathi Parvat region. The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) noted that while the flight initially received clearance based on favorable local weather, the microclimate in the Joshimath valley shifted violently minutes later. The aircraft flew into dense cloud cover, heavy localized rain, and sudden high-altitude snowfall, which severely impaired the pilot’s visual route navigation (VFR).

Following an urgent mobilization ordered by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, search teams from the Indian Army, SDRF, ITBP, and local police launched a rescue mission, locating the wreckage on a steep slope above an Army camp. All six individuals on board, identified as Captain Himanshu Sabharwal (pilot from Delhi), Arun Salunke (a police inspector from the Bengaluru Crime Branch), and passengers Prathap Bichihalli, Shankar Gowda VB, Sudhir K, and H. S. Nagaraja (all from Bengaluru), were killed upon impact. As an immediate safety measure, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and UCADA grounded Trans Bharat Aviation’s entire operational fleet pending a comprehensive safety investigation.

The Badrinath to Sahastradhara helicopter route is considered one of India’s most risk-prone aviation sectors due to its severe terrain and volatile weather, heavily impacted by the extreme environment of the Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. Official data from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) indicates that the Char Dham aviation sector has averaged at least one accident or serious incident every year from 2022 onwards. Risk factors include rapid weather shifts, limiting visual flight rules (VFR) in narrow valleys, unforgiving high-altitude terrain with massive elevation changes between the Badrinath Helipad (over 10,300 feet) and Sahastradhara Heliport (roughly 2,800 feet), and air density affecting mechanical performance. UCADA and DGCA enforce strict standard operating procedures, mandating fleet grounding for operators flying in marginal conditions. Pilgrims are advised to plan journeys during clear weather windows, verify aviation provider safety, and be prepared for flight cancellations.

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