Dehradun, July 2 -- At 5.20 am on June 15, a helicopter landed at the Kedarnath helipad. Four ground crew members approached to assist boarding and passengers were guided in swiftly. Within 90 seconds, another chopper landed to its left. Two seconds later, the first helicopter took off. At 5.23 am, a third chopper landed at the same spot vacated by the first. Three seconds later, the second took off. Two minutes later, the third was gone too. This rapid series of sorties came just minutes before one of those choppers crashed between 5.30 and 5.45 am near Gaurikund, killing all seven on board. The crash occurred despite adverse weather and new safety restrictions issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after a June 7 incident where a helicopter crash-landed on a highway. As per new rules, only four departures per hour from Sirsi, three from Phata, and two from Guptkashi to Kedarnath were allowed. The number of pilgrims airlifted per hour was capped at 50 from an earlier 200. This led to a drop in daily flights to around 150 from 300, depending on weather. In 2024, helicopters made 22,804 sorties to Kedarnath over the Char Dham season. By June 15, 2025, 8,786 sorties had taken place, fewer due to poor weather. The June 15 crash marked the fifth helicopter-related incident in six weeks on this route. Three emergency landings had already occurred, and a crash in Uttarkashi on May 8 killed six. Since the yatra began on May 2, around 51,000 pilgrims have opted for helicopter rides - an alternative to the 16km uphill trek from Gaurikund. In the same period, 1.4 million visited Kedarnath. Chopper services have grown from just two operators flying a few sorties in 2007-08, to eight operators (one runs from two helipads) now, flying from nine points in Sirsi, Phata, and Guptkashi under three-year contracts awarded in 2023. Currently, helicopters are allowed to fly from sunrise till 30 minutes before sunset. But since the fourth accident on June 7, DGCA has limited the number of helicopters airborne at a time from six to four. Each heli-operator is assigned a time slot via an automated system. However, an FIR registered on June 15 after a complaint from a revenue official mentions that Aryan Aviation's assigned slot was not followed. "Aryan Aviation Pvt. Ltd. was allotted the first slot from 6 am to 7 am... whereas the accident happened around 5.30 am. Each heli operator must deploy a person to ensure compliance with DGCA and UCADA SOPs and follow allotted slots," the FIR stated. A round trip on this route costs between Rs.6,000 and Rs.8,000. Operators pay UCADA 5% of each ticket as yatra facilitation fees and Rs.5,000 royalty per landing at Kedarnath. Pilots are allowed a maximum of 50 landings per day. Operators must provide 10 free flying hours per season for emergencies or face a Rs.2 lakh penalty. Eligibility criteria include five years of flying experience, with at least two years in hills. Each chopper must have three DGCA-certified hill pilots (minimum 1,500 hill flying hours) who've been on the operator's payroll for at least six months. Choppers must be able to land at 11,000 ft with at least 6+1 passengers. Officials and insiders estimate the helicopter operations on the Char Dham route to be a Rs.800- Rs.1,000 crore annual business. Captain Sandeep Soti, former chief of flight safety for state and a high-altitude flying veteran, warned: "Commercial pressure is real, but safety must come first." Experts say oversight and on ground accountability of operators is weak. "Five incidents in such a short time... something is seriously wrong. It's quite possible that SOPs are being flouted, and they need to be strengthened. A complete review is essential," Soti added. Sonika, former UCADA CEO, said operators applying through tenders are vetted by DGCA. "The DGCA also inspects helipads and appoints a special commissioner for coordination," she said. Rudraprayag tourism officer Rahul Chaubey said, "Cameras are installed at helipads...logs are maintained, and DGCA conducts surprise checks." However, the DGCA found that CCTV at Kedarnath was not working on October 18, 2022, when a crash killed seven. No footage was shared by UCADA. The crashed chopper lacked a cockpit voice recorder or digital flight data recorder. No action was taken. Aryan Aviation was warned but later awarded a three-year contract in 2023. Despite the intense activity, Kedarnath lacks air traffic control and a dedicated weather station. The flight operations are carried out based on slot allocations by UCADA, with pilots relying on VHF (Very High Frequency) radio communication to self-coordinate and maintain separation between choppers, a senior government official said, adding that mountainous terrain causes blind spots and poor signal strength making real-time communication unreliable, a senior government official said. The October 2022 crash report found the RT (Radiotelephony) system flawed. "There is no procedure of readback or to ensure that all the pilots operating in the region received the RT call. Hence this system itself is not a fool proof system..." the report said. Uttarakhand home secretary Shailesh Bagauli, head of a new committee to draft SOPs, said,"We will examine all aspects, including the previous probe reports by AAIB, and prepare a report for the submission to the government to address the shortcomings, if any."...