What happened

A Bell 407 (VT-BKA) of Aryan Aviation Pvt Ltd operating in the Kedarnath Aryan Helipad Guptkashi sector crashed early morning on Sunday, Jun 15, 2025, near Gaurikund between 0530-0545 IST. The helicopter reportedly took off from Guptkashi at 0510 IST, landed at Kedarnath Ji helipad 0518 IST before departing 0519 IST for Guptkashi. There were a total of seven onboard including the pilot. All are feared dead. Uttarakhand Director General of Information Bansidhar Tripathi said there had been “three emergency landings and two helicopter crashes in the past month and a half” along the Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage route.

Two of these have been fatal, taking a total of 13 lives since May 2025. A timeline of helicopter accidents in Uttarakhand can be accessed here.

Some context (for comparison)

On any given day, at least 12-15 twin-engine helicopters undertake between 25-30 sorties to/from Mumbai High. Flown by two pilots (mostly ex-military) who have to match up to high entry barriers of flying experience, twin-engine hours, offshore experience among others, these helicopters form the lifeline for offshore oil and gas workers who have to traverse hundreds of sea miles to keep our kitchen fires burning. Flying continues unabated 24/7/365 till visibility drops below 1000 metres or conditions at base/destination goes below minima — a rare occurrence, typically just 2-3 times in a year. The primary client is public sector undertaking (PSU) “Maharatna” Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) and a couple of private sector giants. Only 2-3 helicopter companies with “depth” can compete in this exacting environment that stretches from sea level to about 3000 feet. State-run Pawan Hans Limited (PHL), hithertofore a competitor in this field, has since vacated the arena after a series of accidents that shook passenger confidence despite the comfort zone two PSUs (ONGC-PHL) enjoyed in this client-service provider relationship.

These are high-value offshore contracts with intricate standards and punishing liquidated damage (LD) clauses that companies bid for and win on a competitive basis. Upfront, there are no fare-paying passengers. Should the Captain decide to turn back due “weather” or “technical” ( DNCO or “duty not carried out” in military parlance), passengers would at best begrudge another night’s stay in the company guest house or hotel. They can always take another flight the same day or next — no pressure. Yet there have been serious accidents that were traced back to a flawed model that incentivised ‘flying hours’ and ‘number of landings’ over safety in this industry.

The Char Dham Sector

Now imagine a situation where a bunch of eight or nine start-ups or small-cap companies field 40-50 helicopters for a short-term, lucrative contract in the Himalayas where:

• The opportunity window is a slender 3-4 months in a year
• Man and machine are operating at their limits of weight, altitude and temperature (WAT)
• Ticket prices are capped at unreasonable levels because GoI wants “Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN)”
• Demand outstrips supply by an order of magnitude
• The state literally incentivises the feeding frenzy by pegging ticket prices that compete with pony rides
• Contractual clauses load the dice heavily against “No Go” or “Land and Live”
• Only single-pilot, single-engine helicopter operations are viable in this L1 scenario
• Terms are dictated by UCADA generalists from the IAS cadre with ZERO expertise of aviation

Is it surprising if operators become the beast of burden in this scenario where there is big money to be made and incentives for shortcuts are far too many? It’s all fine till such time a helicopter crashes and lives are lost. Even then, holding the operator responsible for all losses and the state (contractually) washing its hands off must strike people with a conscience as odd, but here we are.

Enabling factors

As another helicopter, this time a Bell 407, VT-BKA belonging to Aryan Aviation Pvt Ltd, slammed into a hillside in Uttarakhand today Jun 15, 2025 with loss of seven lives (pilot+5 adults+1 infant), a larger question beggars answer — who is responsible for safety management in what is veritably the ‘cash cow’ sector of helicopter industry in India? And, more importantly, what power or agency do those that the authorities hold “responsible for safety” wield in implementing course corrections?

Some answers can be found in tender documents issued by Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) that runs the heli-tourism wing for and on behalf of Uttarakhand state government.

Fuelled by the Modi government’s flagship Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) and ‘Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik” (UDAN) schemes, heli-tourism, especially to far-flung shrines in the mountains, has seen an uptick in recent years. On first look, there is nothing wrong with the policy as such. Helicopters, indeed all vertical lift, fills a niche in rugged mountains nothing else can. The Char Dham circuit is so holy in India it is considered poor form to even speak of it without the respectful suffix of “ji” (as in Kedarnath Ji). Helicopters can turn a 5-hour trek or pony ride across rugged mountainous terrain into a 15-min air shuttle. Who in government can possibly say no to an idea that propels heli-tourism revenue where all accountability is outsourced to an “operator” while the state keeps skimming money off the top?

Safety culture? What’s that?

In a country where people die in stampedes and fall off the footboard of moving trains without doors in the 21st Century, who should be the final arbiter for safety? The pilgrim who has been given the opportunity to buy a helicopter ticket cheaper than a pony ride? Or a ‘2+1 helicopter company’ who wants to ‘extract maximus’ from the milch cow of the industry? Or UCADA whose website, replete with spelling mistakes and “no data found”, gives a glimpse into how cheap a pilgrim or tourist’s life is in India?

Look at the odds. And the irony. Listed below are some of the clauses extracted from a recent tender floated by UCADA for selection of a helicopter shuttle operator from Joshiyara to Gangotri:

• Operator will have to provide 10 flying hours (on non-chargeable basis) each Yatra season to meet exigencies as determined by UCADA. Each operator will provide the flying hours when directed by UCADA, failure is doing so will attract a penalty of Rs 02 lakh each time. In such a case the balance number of hours will remain unchanged. For utilization of these hours a roaster will be followed. These services will be provided as per the direction of CEO, UCADA.
• When the helicopter is requisitioned by UCADA and if any operator refuses or shows inability, a penalty of Rs 02.00 lakh will be levied.
• Withdrawal of any helicopter on the grounds of reduced pilgrim traffic etc. shall be allowed only after the Operator has obtained the specific written approval of the Chief Executive Officer/ Addl. Chief Executive Officer, UCADA failing which a penalty @ Rs 20,000/- per scheduled flying hour (subject to a maximum of Rs. 100,000/- per day) shall be liable to be imposed. The above penalty shall also apply in case the Operator suspends flying beyond 24 hours, on account of some technical snag/ non availability of pilots or any other reason whatsoever. The penalty amount shall be double in the subsequent days of suspended operations i.e. Rs. 40,000/- per scheduled flying hour (subject to a maximum of Rs. 200,000/- for 2nd day), Rs. 80,000/- per scheduled flying hour (subject to a maximum of Rs. 400,000/- for 3rd day) and so on till 07 days after which the contract of the successful operator can be cancelled.
• The Company shall carry out the flight operations daily, with least inconvenience to the Yatris, subject to fair weather conditions and clearance by the ATC/Competent authority. (to be clear, there is NO ATC or “competent authority” in Chota Char Dham sector except for pilots).
• Each pilot operating Shuttles will be permitted a maximum of 50 landings in a day and the bidder will comply with DGCA CAR Section-7 Series-J Part-II without any aberrations.
• The booking of Heli tickets for shuttle services will be 100% online through website authorized by UCADA. 03% (Inclusive of GST) of the tariff of each booked ticket as Yatra Facilitation Charges shall be charged by UCADA from shuttle operator. (This is like booking airline tickets through DGCA!)
• Booking charges/convenience fees over and above the ticket charges shall be collected from the passenger by the ticket booking agency authorised by UCADA. Dynamic pricing system over and above the L1 rate may be introduced. The SOP for the dynamic pricing system will be as directed by UCADA which will be binding on all the selected bidder.
• The Operator shall pay royalty inclusive of GST equal to Rs 5,000 per landing at all government owned Helipads. The royalty amount has to be deposited on weekly basis. Shuttle royalty shall also increase by 05% with every extension in contract.
• All other equipment/infrastructure for communication, meteorological facilities, medical facilities, fire-fighting and safe flying operation etc shall be the sole responsibility of the Operator, who shall provide it as per norms prescribed by DGCA/ other agencies.
• When the helicopter is requisitioned by UCADA and if any operator refuses or shows inability, a penalty of Rs 02.00 lakh will be levied.
• Withdrawal of any helicopter on the grounds of reduced pilgrim traffic etc. shall be allowed only after the Operator has obtained the specific written approval of the Chief Executive Officer/ Addl. Chief Executive Officer, UCADA failing which a penalty @ Rs 20,000/- per scheduled flying hour (subject to a maximum of Rs. 100,000/- per day) shall be liable to be imposed. The above penalty shall also apply in case the Operator suspends flying beyond 24 hours, on account of some technical snag/ non availability of pilots or any other reason whatsoever. The penalty amount shall be double in the subsequent days of suspended operations i.e. Rs. 40,000/- per scheduled flying hour (subject to a maximum of Rs. 200,000/- for 2nd day), Rs. 80,000/- per scheduled flying hour (subject to a maximum of Rs. 400,000/- for 3rd day) and so on till 07 days after which the contract of the successful operator can be cancelled

And here’s the clincher!

• UCADA shall not be liable for what-so-ever consequences arising out of any accident, incident, mishap, or any event relating to the operation of the helicopter services of the Operator, who shall be solely and exclusively liable for any injury, damage or liability of any kind arising directly or indirectly out of its operations.

Come one, come all policy

The hill state of Uttarakhand is popularly known as “Dev Bhoomi” — meaning ‘Abode of the Gods’. The Char Dham Yatra represents one of the holiest pilgrimage for practising Hindus. As defined by Hindu saint and philosopher Adi Shankara, Char Dham or the Chatur Dhama is a set of four Hindu pilgrimage sites in India, comprising Badrinath (in Uttarakhand), Dwarka (in Gujarat), Puri (in Odisha) and Rameshwaram (in Tamil Nadu). This ‘Char Dham ‘ is often confused with “Chota Char Dham” which comprises Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath.

Today, Chota Char Dham has gained ascendancy over Char Dham thanks to slick marketing of Hindu religious tourism by central and state authorities. With throwaway ticket prices speaking to a “come one, come all” audience, it is hardly surprising that the IRCTC window for heli-tourism ticketing in this sector closes within minutes of opening — for a season that lasts just 5-6 months, including the Amarnath Yatra! All this in the middle of weather most unsuitable for helicopter flying — the Southwest Monsoon (Jun-Sep).

Weather unaccounted?

A veteran of this sector shared a video with me that I found tantalisingly dangerous, given the marginal conditions of terrain and topography in this sector. They call it Rambara Express. It shows an ominous cloud filling the Kedar valley so fast, it can prove to be the nemesis for single-pilot VFR operations. This is what the pilot had to say:

Rambara is a village south of Kedarnath, from where this cloud weather phenomenon builds up. It builds up so fast and moves at an express pace towards the temple. That’s why, it’s name..Rambara express

The earning season is very small and the stakes are inordinately high. In remote Himalayan helipads, what kind of operations/maintenance support can be expected to hold up against a system that expects operators to fly shuttles dawn to dusk, charging them extortionary rates for every landing while providing absolutely nothing in return except ticket fares that are capped at pony ride fares? Even the Indian military suspends routine flying in mountains after noon!

Shelfware of rules, but ground reality is different

A series of accidents have only added to the regulatory overload while doing precious little to correct what is essentially a flawed economic model that promotes shuttles and landings over safety. For example, the number of helicopters in the Kedar valley at any given time was reduced from four to two and payload restricted from In Ground Effect (IGE) to Out of Ground Effect (OGE), meaning lesser payload (and hence more shuttles to earn “promised” revenue). In effect, the state government and UCADA has pumped more air into the shrine tourism balloon while watchdog DGCA has covered its tracks with Operations Circulars that are “unobtanium” in the existing context (OC 02 of 2023). When helicopters operating under little to no oversight under Himalayan conditions meet aspirations of an “awakened” pilgrim on a holy pilgrimage to “wash off all sins”, expect new sins of omission or commission.

Wake-up call

Thanks to all the hardsell coupled with the pull of cheap tickets, the hill shrines of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath have been seeing footfalls like never before. Shrine boards and the UCADA have been incentivising this feeding frenzy with no real investments in infrastructure or safety management systems. To make matters worse, operators hire ex-military pilots with hill flying experience and incentivise them with cash bounties that draw them away from well-regulated sectors like offshore. It can only go south from here.

The situation is so bad, helicopter operators can learn a thing or two from pony operators who seem to have a higher benchmark for what works in the hills and what doesn’t. The flawed financial model at the root of this unholy heli-tourism sector merits greater scrutiny and could well hold the keys to solving the puzzle. Meanwhile, as fare-paying passengers, please do your due diligence and take the safer option till further advice. As it seems, nobody has your back.

If the triumvirate of MoCA, UCADA and DGCA has succeeded in one mission, it is to unite the pilgrim with his/her Maker, as two fatal accidents in as many months has shown. It is about time pilgrims take responsibility for their own lives.

Signing off with thoughts and prayers to seven onboard the last flight of VT-BKA.

“Baba Kedar ki Jai”

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©KP Sanjeev Kumar, 2025. I can be reached at realkaypius@gmail.com or on my Twitter handle @realkaypius. Views are personal.