Lieutenant Commander Bhaskar Rajvanshi was on Sunday awarded a gallantry medal by the Navy for his exemplary professionalism and courage in recovering an advanced light helicopter (ALH) from a state of “catastrophic control failure”, according to an official statement.
A Navy spokesperson in a statement said this was the “first ever documented instance” of a safe recovery from collective control failure emergency in the “entire ALH fleet across all services”.
“The pilot with his limited flying experience ensured safe recovery of the helicopter and aircrew in an extremely challenging scenario, thereby saving an asset worth over Rs 100 crore. The recovery of the aircraft has enabled the services to undertake accurate investigation of the failure towards putting remedial measures in place for the entire ALH fleet,” read his citation for the Nao Sena Medal (Gallantry).
On March 8, 2023, IN 709, ALH MK III (MR) helicopter was disembarking from the aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, to Mumbai with three personnel onboard.”Flying at altitude 500 ft above mean sea level, the pilot suddenly encountered a catastrophic control failure, wherein the aircraft suffered uncommanded loss of collective power, rapid descent without any warning or failure indication in cockpit,” read the citation. With no collective control available, the situation was likely to turn into a “fatal disaster,” it said.
However, Rajvanshi, captain of the 321 Shikra ALH flight, did not surrender to the given circumstances, displaying tremendous courage and extraordinary piloting skills, he manoeuvred the helicopter with limited control available to effect an “extraordinary ditching at sea,” the citation said.
The pilot ensured that the helicopter ditched clear of merchant and fishing traffic and thereby avoided loss of civil property or lives. Even after effecting safe touchdown over the sea surface, the helicopter remained extremely vulnerable to unbalanced aerodynamic forces that could lead to toppling and sure loss of machine or lives, it added.
“The pilot observed utmost discipline, maintained composure and guided his crew to safety by swift deployment of emergency floatation gear and safety equipment,” the citation further said. The singular act of bravery, grit and presence of mind in the face of danger has upheld the Indian Navy’s ethos, it said.
