7 killed as IAF helicopter crashes near Tawang

At least seven defence personnel including two Army officers were killed when a Russian made Mi17 V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed on Friday morning near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.

The defence spokesperson said that helicopter crashed at about 6 am while it was on an air maintenance mission. A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the crash, he added.

The deceased were identified as Wing Commander Vikram Upadhyay, Squadron Leader S. Tiwari, MWO A.K. Singh, Sergeant Gautam and Sergeant Satish Kumar of the Air Force, and Sepoy E. Balaji and Sepoy H.N. Deka of the Army.

The crash took place when it was flying at an altitude of 17,000 feet and crew members were preparing to drop kerosene supply to one of the forward posts in the area.

Security sources said that while the cans of kerosene were being offloaded, the net holding the cans got entangled with the aircraft’s rear rotor, sources said.

The helicopter caught fire and crashed to the ground, killing all onboard. When the helicopter caught fire, one of the crew members jumped out, but couldn’t survive, sources said. The bodies of seven people, including the pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and two Army personnel, have been found at the crash site at Yangchi, 130 km from Tawang town and close to the border with China.

Defence sources pointed out that the senior pilots were flying the copter at the time of the crash.

The crash has come as a shocker for the defence experts who said that the Mi-17V5 ranks among the most technically advanced helicopters of the Mi-8/17 type, incorporating the best engineering solutions of previous generations.

Designed to transport cargo inside the cabin, the Mi-17V5 is considered to be one of the world’s most advanced military transport helicopters.

A defence spokesperson said only the court of inquiry can ascertain actual cause of crash and refused confirm any lapses in dropping the payload.