On Sunday, seven people, including a two-year-old, died when a chopper operated by a private aviation company carrying Char Dham pilgrims from Kedarnath crashed near Gaurikund in Rudraprayag district on its way to Guptkashi. Initial indications are that it also happened due to poor visibility caused by bad weather. There are predictable—and possibly even true—suspicions about maintenance issues and cutting corners when it comes to passenger safety.

On May 8, six people including the pilot were killed when their helicopter crashed into a hillside in Uttarkashi when flying from Dehradun to Harsil. Ten days later, an air ambulance helicopter made an emergency landing in Kedarnath when its tail rotor malfunctioned but no one got hurt. On June 7, a chopper carrying 5 people from Rudraprayag to Kedarnath in Uttarakhand had a technical snag during take-off but managed to land safely on a highway.

It is not surprising that the Uttarakhand Chief Minister has halted all helicopter services in the state for two days. However, what he said raises fresh concerns. He asked the state’s Chief Secretary to form an expert panel to prepare a standard operating procedure mandating thorough technical checks of helicopters and taking updated weather information before every flight. This implies that these basic safety procedures are not generally conducted.

That suspicion is borne out by information emerging that the ill-fated flight happened before the time slot allotted to that chopper service, indicating that the owners were probably running extra services off the register. As there are over 300 scheduled flights around that area during peak Char Dham yatra season, the temptation to squeeze in a few more beyond official hours is high. And if the area has no ATC or radar systems, weather changes can prove deadly.

Last October, the Chief Election Commissioner and three other officials and the pilot had a close shave when their helicopter had to make an emergency landing near........

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