Investigation Summary
The flight was a routine transport mission to Leh, but weather conditions in the northern sector were rapidly deteriorating as a disturbance moved in from the west. After encountering heavy cloud cover and inclement weather near Leh, the pilot, Flight Lieutenant Harkewal Singh, made the decision to turn back to Chandigarh. The last radio contact was established over the Rohtang Pass. The aircraft likely drifted off course in the blinding weather, crashing into the Chandrabhaga-13 peak in the Lahaul and Spiti district at an elevation of approximately 20,500 feet. The wreckage was eventually scattered across the Dhaka Glacier at roughly 17,324 feet. The recovery of the aircraft has been one of the longest-running salvage operations in aviation history, complicated by the fact that the wreckage was buried under up to 9 meters of snow and ice.
Final Conclusions
The accident was caused by Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) precipitated by severe weather conditions. The pilot's decision to turn back was appropriate given the conditions at Leh, but the high-altitude terrain and lack of modern navigational aids in 1968 made the return flight through the Rohtang Pass extremely hazardous in low visibility. The aircraft was found nearly 200 km from Chandigarh, significantly off its intended flight path.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Systems & Failure Modes
Ivchenko AI-20M
The four turboprop engines powering the An-12BP; wreckage of these engines was recovered in 2019.
Recco Radar
A specialized radar used by recovery teams in 2024 to detect metallic objects buried up to 20 meters deep in the glacier ice.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was carrying 30 lakh rupees in cash intended for the government treasury in Leh.
- 02The co-pilot, Squadron Leader Pran Nath Malhotra, was a last-minute replacement for another pilot whose child was ill.
- 03The wreckage was first discovered by accident in 2003 by a mountaineering team from the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute.
- 04As of late 2024, a total of 13 bodies have been recovered from the glacier, including four remains found during an October 2024 expedition.
- 05The crash site is located at an altitude of approximately 17,324 feet (5,280 meters) on the Dhaka Glacier.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Operation Punarutthan
A series of dedicated Indian Army and Air Force search expeditions (I, II, and III) launched to recover remains and wreckage from the high-altitude glacier.