After Badrinath Crash Killed Six, Co-Pilot Made Mandatory on All Char Dham Helicopter Charters

A day after the Trans Bharat Aviation helicopter crash near Badrinath killed the pilot and five pilgrims from Bengaluru, UCADA and the DGCA decided at a high-level meeting on October 31 to make a co-pilot mandatory on every Char Dham charter flight and to require a pilot debrief report after every flight, while the AAIB has begun a detailed probe.

Awaaz Punjab Investigations Desk31 October 20263 min readRead in all 3 languages

Helicopter charter flights for the Char Dham Yatra will now have to carry a co-pilot on every flight. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday, October 31, a day after a helicopter crash near Badrinath killed all six people on board, The Hindu reported.

Source: The Hindu via NewsBites

The earlier crash, reported by Awaaz Punjab on Friday, involved a Trans Bharat Aviation helicopter that took off from Badrinath at about 1:14 p.m. for Sahastradhara in Dehradun, carrying five pilgrims from Bengaluru, and lost contact near the Hathi Parvat area amid snowfall before crashing near Chayee village close to Joshimath in Chamoli district. UCADA grounded the entire Trans Bharat Aviation fleet after the crash, and the bodies of all six — the pilot and the five passengers — were recovered.

Along with the co-pilot rule, pilots will now have to submit a report to the authorities after every flight, detailing weather conditions and other important operational information, according to The Hindu's report. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has started a detailed probe into Friday's crash, UK Nation News reported.

Source: UK Nation News

Pilots operating in the sector have separately called for better weather systems and a second pilot on Char Dham helicopter flights, The New Indian Express reported. The sector has a troubled safety record: five helicopter crashes occurred in just 39 days in Uttarakhand in 2025, after which the Union Civil Aviation Ministry suspended services and licences and ordered stricter protocols, UK Nation News reported.

What happens next will depend on the AAIB's findings on the cause of Friday's crash and on how quickly operators can roster qualified co-pilots for the remaining Char Dham season. Awaaz Punjab will update this story as UCADA or the DGCA issues the formal order.

Sources