New Delhi: Army sources today said that an Indian Army Cheetah helicopter crashed near the Mandala hills area of Arunachal Pradesh. Two pilots- Lieutenant Colonel and a Major are reportedly missing after the crash.
The search operation for the pilots has started.
Lt Col Mahendra Rawat, PRO Defence Guwahati said that the Army Aviation Cheetah helicopter flying an operational sortie near Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh was reported to have lost contact with the ATC at around 09:15 am today.
A #Cheetah helicopter of the #IndianArmy crashed in Arunachal Pradesh this morning. Search operation for the pilots underway#Breaking @nabilajamal_ | @Suryavachan pic.twitter.com/Gm4QWsmi2x
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) March 16, 2023
The helicopter had taken off from Senge Village near Sela district and it was en route to Misamari.
Army #Cheetah Helicopter Crash Details Update:
The West #Kameng Police, #ArunachalPradesh received a report of an #Army #Cheetah helicopter crash at around 10:45 AM, today.
The helicopter took off from Senge Village near Sela district and it was en route to Misamari. In between… https://t.co/bDyK69CFxX
— Indian Aerospace Defence News (IADN) (@NewsIADN) March 16, 2023
On June 3, 2019, thirteen 13 Indian Air Force personnel lost their lives after an AN-32 aircraft crashed soon after taking off from Assam’s Jorhat.
The AN-32 aircraft was headed for Arunachal Pradesh’s Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) when it lost contact with ground authorities at around 1 pm.
The crashed Mi-17 chopper’s wreckage was located by a Mi-17 chopper after several days of massive search and rescue operations.
On June 20, the remains of the IAF personnel were retrieved where the plane crashed.
This is a developing story.