Pilot, co-pilot killed in Army's Cheetah helicopter crash in Arunachal Pradesh

The mishap once again raised questions over Cheetah helicopter and the need for phasing out the chopper

A pilot and his co-pilot belonging to Indian Army's aviation corps died after a Cheetah helicopter crashed near Mandala in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh Thursday.

The deceased have been identified as Lt. Col. VVB Reddy and Major Jayanth A. The army, however, did not share further details about the pilots.

The army said in a statement that the helicopter, which was on an operational sortie, lost contact with Air Traffic Control at around 9.15 am. The chopper took off from Sange village in the district at around 9 am and was on its way to Missamari in Sonitpur district in the neighbouring Assam, army sources said.

The wreckage of the aircraft was found near Banglajaap village in the East of Mandala at around 12.30 pm. "With regret, we inform that the pilot and the co-pilot of the helicopter lost their lives in the accident," Defence spokesperson based in Guwahati, Lt. Col. Mahendra Rawat said in the statement.

Arunachal Pradesh shares a border with China and there is a large deployment of Army and other security personnel for security reasons.

Rawat said a court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the mishap. He said five search parties comprising Army, SSB, ITBP and local people were pressed into service soon after the helicopter went missing.

Questions over the Cheetah rise again

The five-seater Cheetah helicopter dominates the Indian army's fleet of Light Utility Helicopters and is used in operational activities in high altitude locations. East Kameng is situated at about 9,000 feet. But several mishaps involving the Cheetah in the past few years have raised questions over its utility and the army's calls for phasing out the same.

Two helicopters belonging to the Army's aviation wing had similarly crashed in October last year in Arunachal Pradesh in which six army personnel died. A Cheetah helicopter crashed near Tawang (bordering China) on October 5 last year killing a Lt. Col and injuring another personnel. On October 21, an Advance Light Helicopter of the Army crashed near Tuting in Upper Siang district. Two Majors and three other personnel died in the crash.