Indian Army issued a statement on the Arunachal helicopter crash. Both pilots lost their lives.
The wreckage of the aircraft was found near Village Banglajaap East of Mandala.
As reported earlier, an Army Aviation Cheetah helicopter flying an operational sortie near Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh lost contact with the ATC at around 09:15 AM on 16 March 23. Two pilots were on board the Indian Army Aviation Cheetah helicopter that crashed near the Mandala hills area in Arunachal Pradesh.
Five search parties of the Indian army, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and ITBP were immediately launched.
“With regret, we inform you that the pilot and the co-pilot of the helicopter lost their lives in the accident,” the Indian army said in statement.
According to the statement, a Court of Inquiry is being ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.
According to Arunachal Pradesh Police, an Army chopper lost contact midway and could not be located while it was en route to Missamari from Senge village. At around 12:30 pm, villagers from Bangjalep under Dirang police station informed that a crashed chopper was found.
“As of now, no photos are available as the area has no signal. Weather today is extremely foggy and visibility is 5 meters,” said police.
The ageing Cheetah and Cheetah Light Utility helicopters (LUH) are famously nicknamed “flying coffins”. Despite the frequent crashes, they fly very often as per the mandate in high-altitude areas. There are around 200 Cheetah and Chetak helicopters in service at present.
In fact, last year, the Indian Army Wives Agitation Group (AWAG) made a strong plea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi
The Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Army Aviation Corps (AAC) use the Chetak and Cheetah helicopters. Their primary role is for the transportation, casualty evacuation, search and rescue operations, aerial survey and patrolling, and off-shore and under-slung military operations.
Indian Defence entity, Hindustan Aeronautics