Dehradun, Nov. 15 -- The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has flagged critical lapses in its interim report on the helicopter ambulance accident that took place near Kedarnath Dham in May this year. The probe found that the pilot lacked experience in high-altitude flying and that no real-time weather information was available to the crew at the time of the operation. The Airbus AS350B2 helicopter -- operated as an air ambulance -- was dispatched to Kedarnath Dham from AIIMS Rishikesh at 11am to airlift a patient suffering from severe respiratory distress at Kedarnath Dham. As the helicopter was approaching the helipad near Kedarnath, it descended to the ground. The pilot and two passengers -- a doctor and a nurse -- sustained no injuries. The AAIB found significant gaps in the pilot's eligibility for high-altitude operations. A former Navy man, the 58-year-old pilot joined Pawan Hans in June 2018 but began flying as pilot-in-command in Gangtok after a seat-specific line check, without completing the mandatory hill/mountain training. According to the probe report, he had no prior experience flying above 4,000 feet and lacked the required clearances for hill operations. As per Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs), he should have completed ground training, 15 hours of flying with an instructor, a hill-ops release check, and logged 100 hours as co-pilot -- none of which was documented in his logbook. AAIB found further procedural lapses after the pilot joined Pinnacle Aviation in March 2024. Following type training on the AS350B2, he had a flying gap of over 90 days but did not complete the required three supervised take-offs and landings with an experienced co-pilot, it said. The AAIB report also mentioned that the crew operated the flight without having the real-time meteorological information from Kedarnath valley. The AAIB asked UCADA to establish SOP in line with existing regulations, to ensure timely dissemination of accurate weather information to all operators for safe helicopter operations in the Char Dham sector. UCADA chief executive officer (CEO) Ashish Chauhan didn't respond to calls by HT....