Thread by @realkaypius

True closure can only come with a deep inquiry and commitment to truth, however unpleasant it may turn out to be. My thoughts on this sad accident. #Rudra #ALH #Flightsafety

Thoughts on the Army ALH Mk-4 'Rudra' Crash at Pathankot kaypius.com/2021/08/22/tho… via @realkaypius

A month after the army #RudraCrash, no closure for family of Capt Jayant Joshi. No information on recovery of CVFDR, main wreckage or mortal remains. Just an ominous silence.💔

Thread...
1. 70 days after #ALHRudracrash into Ranjit Sagar reservoir near Pathankot, mortal remains of Capt Jayant Joshi are yet to be retrieved. The search effort that followed is unprecedented given challenges of medium, geography & unforeseen circumstances of the crash.

2. Ranjit Sagar dam is an earthfill dam abutting an artificial reservoir. Think of the reservoir as evacuating & flooding a large valley & then shoring it up with a dam. What lies beneath is every kind of natural & man-made obstructions you can imagine, at crushing depths.

3. Over last 70 days, services have thrown everything they have, human & material, at locating the wreckage & occupants. Every eqpt & device, incl imported ROVs, side scan sonars & specialised diving eqpt have been deployed. Main wreckage & black box has been retrieved.

4. Naval divers dived beyond envelope in uncharted waters. Lt Col AS Batth's body was found & handed over to NOK. Infantrymen scoured forests around the lake for miles, though every evidence pointed to a high-energy, almost unsurvivable, impact with water.

5. The Ranjit Sagar lake bed has heavy mud, silt and every kind of natural & man-made underwater traps one can imagine: houses, forests, bridges, culverts, and undulating shelf, with zero visibility.

6. Using scientific method, the proximate area around impact point & main wreck was systematically searched by naval divers & ROVs. It is reliably learnt that every kind of internal/external help was enlisted or procured.

7. Yet there is no trace of Capt Jayant Joshi. This lack of closure inflicts unimaginable trauma on his family. Jayant's brother @Neel92Joshi whose twitter TL resembled any happy go lucky netizen a day before the crash has turned into a plaintive SOS for the Joshi family.

8. The Joshi family has petitioned the @rashtrapatibhvn & @rajnathsingh Defence Minister requesting no drawdown on search efforts. Reality on site though paints a different picture. There's no good news & hopes diminish with each passing day.

9. Regulations on SAR for the fallen in the face of diminishing returns are written in cold light of day. Even so, in this case, there's every indication that the services have gone above, beyond & under.

10. It is grave tragedy that even a bone from the braveheart's body that could provide closure couldn't be retrieved despite monumental effort. Soon, the search effort will be called off. One hopes the family's request for enhancing & localising the search is given due respect.

11. After all, Jayant's remains are somewhere there. Even forensic examination of wreckage for human remains & sending them for DNA testing could help provide some closure for Jayant's family. It has been done in the past (Navy KV crash off Goa early 2000; Vaideeswaran & Suresh)

12. While applauding the monumental efforts of search teams in this unprecedented disaster, it is worthwhile pondering over the cost-benefit ratio of undertaking such flights over a medium that is terribly unforgiving, before & after a crash.

13. Supervisory heads must roll; course corrections must come. But if recent helibatics over Dal lake & water bodies in Chandigarh for shopwindow are any indication, we've learnt nothing. The silo mentality remains unchecked. In the least, build better defences against a repeat?

14. Praying for early closure for the Joshi family. Please keep them in your thoughts. Blue skies. @adgpi @IAF_MCC @indiannavy @Neel92Joshi

End of thread.