Army Chopper Crash: Court Of Inquiry To Focus On May Day Call, Efforts On To Retrieve Fifth Body

Mortal remains of four Army personnel killed in a defence chopper crash in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh were retrieved on Friday while efforts are underway to locate the fifth body.

The advanced light helicopter (ALH) WSI, also known as HAL Rudra, had taken off from Likabali in the Lower Siang district. ( Image Source :PTI )

New Delhi: The Court of Inquiry formed after the chopper crash in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh will focus on the 'May Day' call to the Air Traffic Control (ATC)  that suggested a technical or mechanical failure, news agency ANI reported.

Mortal remains of four Army personnel killed in a defence chopper crash in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh were retrieved on Friday while efforts are underway to locate the fifth body.

The weather condition was ideal for flying operations with pilots having extensive flying experience, reported news agency ANI.

“It is reported that the weather was good for flying operations. The pilots had more than 600 combined flying hours on the Advance Light Helicopter (Weapon Systems Integrated) and over 1800 service flying hours between them. The aircraft was inducted into service in June 2015,” according to ANI.

Prior to the crash, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) had received a May Day call suggesting a technical or mechanical failure. This will form the focus of the Court of Inquiry, which has been immediately constituted to investigate the causes of the accident.

— ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2022

The bodies of the four Army personnel have been recovered from the crash site in a densely wooded mountainous area 35 km from the border with China, said a defence spokesperson.

The advanced light helicopter (ALH) WSI, also known as HAL Rudra, had taken off from Likabali in the Lower Siang district.  The chopper including two pilots was on regular sorties when it crashed at 10.43 am in Migging, around 25 km south of Tuting, the district headquarters.

The cause of the crash is not yet known and details are being ascertained, he added, as reported by news agency PTI.

Soon after the crash, a joint search and rescue operation was launched by the Army and Air Force in which an MI-17 and two ALHs along with three columns of the Indian Army were deployed and the four bodies were found, added the official. While the district police also sent a team to the spot for the search operation, informed Upper Siang superintendent of police Jummar Basar.

The HAL Rudra is an attack helicopter manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the Indian Army. HAL Rudra is a weapon system integrated (WSI) Mk-IV variant of the Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH) and is the first armed helicopter produced indigenously in India.

Union minister Kiren Rijiju who represents the frontier state in Parliament also expressed shock over the incident and termed it disturbing.

“Received very disturbing news about Indian Army’s Advanced Light Helicopter crash in Upper Siang District in Arunachal Pradesh. My deepest prayers,” he tweeted.

Received very disturbing news about Indian Army’s Advanced Light Helicopter crash in Upper Siang District in Arunachal Pradesh. My deepest prayers 🙏 pic.twitter.com/MNdxtI7ZRq

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) October 21, 2022

This is the second accident by an Army helicopter in Arunachal Pradesh this month.

A Cheetah helicopter crashed in Tawang district on October 5 and claimed the life of one of its two pilots. According to records, Arunachal Pradesh has witnessed 13 crashes since 1995 and 47 people were killed in them.

(With inputs from agencies)