IAF’s Mi-17 Helicopter Makes Emergency Landing In Sikkim’s Mukutang, One Injured

An Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper made a force landing in a field, 10 nautical miles away from Sikkim's Mukutang, on Thursday (7 May) after it encountered technical issues.

The Mi-17 Helicopter was on a routine air maintenance sortie from Chaten to Mukutang in Sikkim.

"The Helicopter got airborne at 6.45 a.m. and enroute the helicopter has force landed 10 NM short of designated helipad due to bad weather," said a senior IAF officer.

The force said that the helicopter sustained damage but all six personnel on board were safe.

"Four aircrew of IAF and two personnel of Indian Army are reported to be safe. One person has sustained injury," the IAF said in a statement.

Two recovery Helicopters and an Army ground search party have been launched for rescue and were yet to reach the site.

An investigation has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.

On 17 April, an IAF aircraft experienced a tyre deflation just before take-off at Delhi's Palam airbase.

The Dornier aircraft was planned to undertake routine flight from the Palam Air Base. "During the take off roll, aircraft experienced a tyre deflation. The captain of the aircraft took prompt and correct actions of aborting the take off," IAF had said.

Earlier on 17 April, the IAF Apache helicopter made an emergency landing on a field in Punjab''s Hoshiarpur. The helicopter took off from the Pathankot base earlier, but due to some technical glitch it landed in the Budhwar village fields.

"On April 17, an Apache helicopter of the IAF got airborne from Pathankot airbase. The helicopter, after approx 1 hour of flying had indications of a critical failure and carried out a safe landing in Punjab," the IAF had said in a statement.

The force said the captain of the aircraft took correct and prompt actions to recover the helicopter. The incident was not an abrasion.

In the same week, an IAF helicopter made an emergency landing on an expressway in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat while it was on its way to supplying COVID-19 test samples of Leh to Chandigarh. The IAF Cheetah chopper made an emergency landing on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway in Baghpat district.

The IAF aircraft have been pressed into service in the fight against the spread of novel Coronavirus in India.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)