'Pilots had to to fly below cloud level'

BANGALORE
: All available indications of the crash of YSR's helicopter point to the weather and not
technical snag.

Air Commodore V S Bharti of IAF Yelahanka, who coordinated the search operation, reasoned that heavy rain, winds and turbulence might have forced low-level flying, eventually leading to the crash. Excerpts from an interview:
What do you think led to the crash?

Forced low-level flying seems to be the immediate cause. Heavy winds, turbulence and rain must have reduced visibility to virtually nil between 3,000 and 5,000 feet. The pilots may not have been able to see anything ahead of them, or know where they were heading. Preliminary reasoning indicates the copter was flying below cloud level.
When did you get the call to undertake the operation?

By Wednesday noon. Air headquarters intimated Training Command Bangalore which took over operations immediately, under the guidance of Air-Officer-Command Air Marshal V R Iyer and Air Marshal Nowhar.

What was your main challenge? Finding a needle in a haystack is always tricky. Searching for wreckage in a vast forest region in cloudy, rainy weather can prove to be difficult.