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2021 Indian Air Force Mil Mi-17 crash

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2021 Indian Air Force Mi-17 crash
An Indian Mil Mi-17 V5, similar to the one involved
Accident
Date8 December 2021 (2021-12-08)
SummaryBad weather, poor visibility (investigation pending); Crashed into hillside
SiteNanjappachatiram, Bandishola panchayat, Coonoor taluk, Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, India
Aircraft
Aircraft typeMil Mi-17 V5
OperatorIndian Air Force
RegistrationZP 5164
Flight originSulur Air Force Station, Tamil Nadu, India
DestinationDefence Services Staff College, Wellington, Coonoor, Tamilnadu, India
Passengers10
Crew4[1]
Fatalities13
Survivors1

On 8 December 2021, a Mil Mi-17 V5 transport helicopter operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed between Coimbatore and Wellington in Tamil Nadu, after departing from Sulur Air Force Station. The helicopter was carrying Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and 13 others, including his wife Madhulika Rawat and staff. All people on board except one, an air force officer, were killed in the crash.

Aircraft and crew

The Russian-built[2] Mi-17 medium-lift helicopter was one of the first batch of 80 of its type built for the IAF under the terms of a 2008 contract.[3] Delivered to the IAF in 2013, the helicopter had flown over 26 hours without incident since its most recent servicing.[4]

Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan, the CO of 109 Helicopter Unit, was the pilot in command,[5] with co pilot Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh and two crew members.[6]

Incident

The passengers had boarded the flight around 11:45 local time. At 11:47 local time, the helicopter took off with 10 passengers and 4 crew members from Sulur Air Force Station, headed to the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) in Wellington, Tamil Nadu.[5] General Rawat, his wife and his staff were travelling to the DSSC, where Rawat was to address the college's faculty and student officers.[7] The flight was scheduled to arrive at Wellington by 12:15. At 12:08 local time, the helicopter lost contact with the Sulur Air force base.[8] It crashed near a residential colony of private tea estate employees on the outskirts of the hamlet of Nanjappachatiram, Bandishola panchayat, in the Katteri-Nanchappanchathram area of Coonoor taluk, Nilgiris district.[5][9][10] The crash site was 10 km from the flight's intended destination.[11][12] According to an eyewitness, he "saw the helicopter coming down... it hit one tree and was on fire. There were plumes of smoke when I ran over. In minutes, the fire was higher than my house." Villagers threw water over the fire in attempt to put it out.[13]

Initial reports of the crash emerged around 12:20, with a search-and-rescue operation launched at 12:25. The IAF officially confirmed General Rawat's presence on the flight in a tweet sent at 13:53.[14] Rescue operations continued until 15:25.[5] Fire and Rescue Services personnel who managed to reach the crash site after some difficulty, as the site was 500 meters from a major road, reported the crash victims had been burnt beyond recognition.[10]

Casualties

India's first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat died in the crash.
India's first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat died in the crash.

The ten passengers on board the flight included Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, liaison officer Group Captain Varun Singh and two members of the general's personal staff, and five NCOs.[15]

Following the crash, the IAF released statements at 18:03 confirming the death of 13 of the 14 people on board, including General Rawat and his wife.[16][17] As of 21:30 local time, all 13 of the bodies had been recovered from the crash site.[18] Group Captain Varun Singh, SC, a Directing Staff at DSSC, was the sole survivor, and was taken to the military hospital in Wellington, Tamil Nadu, for surgery.[19][20]

Aftermath

The IAF announced an inquiry into the crash. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met on the evening of the disaster to decide on further course of action. The CCS was headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh made a formal announcement in Parliament on December 9 regarding the incident.[8] The Opposition suspended its protests in Parliament for one day as a tribute to those who lost their lives in the crash.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, wife among 13 killed in chopper crash". The Economic Times. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  2. ^ "India: Military chief, 12 others die in helicopter crash". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 8 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ Chhina, Man Aman Singh (9 December 2021). "Explained: The helicopter CDS Bipin Rawat was in". The Indian Express. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  4. ^ Mukul, Pranav; Chhina, Man Aman Singh (9 December 2021). "Advanced and robust chopper; weather could have been crash factor". The Indian Express. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d M., Saravanan; Sundar, P. S. (8 December 2021). "First Chief of Defence Bipin Rawat, 12 others killed in chopper crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  6. ^ "India's top military officer, CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, dies in Tamil Nadu helicopter crash". India Today. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  7. ^ Singh, Rahul. "General Rawat, his wife and 11 others killed in IAF chopper crash". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  8. ^ a b Sinha, Shreya (9 December 2021). "Read full statement of Rajnath Singh in Parliament on IAF chopper crash". India Today.
  9. ^ M., Saravanan (8 December 2021). "Coonoor helicopter mishap: 'One of the injured men asked for water', recount eyewitnesses". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  10. ^ a b Saravanan, M. (8 December 2021). "Sulur chopper tragedy: 'Never seen anything this tragic', say Coonoor fire and rescue personnel". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  11. ^ Madhav, Pramod (8 December 2021). "CDS General Bipin Rawat's chopper crashes in Tamil Nadu". India Today. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  12. ^ "IAF copter goes down: From crash location to where Gen Bipin Rawat was heading, here's what we know". Firstpost. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Bipin Rawat: India's top general dies in helicopter crash". BBC News. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  14. ^ "CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, wife, 11 others die in IAF chopper crash: Timeline of events". India Today. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  15. ^ Singh, Rahul (8 December 2021). "General Rawat, his wife and 11 others killed in IAF chopper crash". The Hindustan Times. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  16. ^ Indian Air Force [@IAF_MCC] (8 December 2021). "With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "CDS chopper crash: 13 of 14 personnel on-board confirmed dead". ANI News. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  18. ^ Indian Air Force [@IAF_MCC] (8 December 2021). "An IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter, with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat on board, met with an accident today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. An Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Noronha, Rehul (8 December 2021). "Sole survivor of IAF chopper crash has family serving in all three services of armed forces". India Today. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  20. ^ Indian Air Force [@IAF_MCC] (8 December 2021). "Gp Capt Varun Singh SC, Directing Staff at DSSC with injuries is currently under treatment at Military Hospital, Wellington" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Sinha, Shreya (9 December 2021). "Opposition suspends protest in Parliament for the day as tribute to CDS Gen Rawat, others". India Today.
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