Indian Military Aviation News and Discussion

[Arun_S]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nine-k...r/995732/0





Nine killed as 2 IAF choppers collide mid-air Express news service Posted online: Fri Aug 31 2012, 01:57 hrs Rajkot, New Delhi : In the first ever mid-air helicopter collision involving the Indian Air Force (IAF), nine defence personnel, including five officers, were killed after two Mi-17 choppers crashed into each other minutes after taking off from Jamnagar airbase on Thursday afternoon. While the IAF has ordered a court of inquiry into the incident, initial reports suggest that the crash occurred after the rotor wings of the two choppers came into contact during a close formation flying mission. Both helicopters were fully armed for a rocket firing mission and crashed just five minutes after taking off, indicating that they had just “paired up” after take-off when the collision occurred. Those who were killed have been identified as Wing Commander A Sharma, Wing Commander V Singh, Wing Commander S Saxena, Squadron Leader V Manoj, Flying Officer M Srijeet, Junior Warrant Officer R Murugan, and Sergeants R K Rana, R P Sahni and H K Patel. The crash occurred just outside the Sarmat firing range. According to eyewitnesses, the choppers were flying very close to each other when their rotor blades came in contact, causing both to lose control. The tail rotor of one of the choppers snapped too. Eyewitnesses said that after the rotor blades collided, one of the two choppers veered into an 11 KV electricity transmission line, which resulted in it catching fire. The second chopper, witnesses said, crashed to the ground. “We were at a tea stall just a few metres away when we saw the blades of the two choppers colliding with each other,” said Dosabhai Boraiya, the owner of the farm where the choppers crashed. “I saw that one of the choppers later touched the electricity transmission wire and caught fire,” he added. His brother Jasabhai, who was also present at the site, said they ran towards the chopper that had not caught fire and pulled out three of the four IAF personnel who were on board. They were rushed to a nearby IAF hospital but none survived. The other chopper had five personnel on board. Initial reports indicated that the choppers collided with each other just off the ground level and were flying in close formation for a firing practice mission. The distance between the two choppers at this point is usually just over 25 metres, requiring extreme concentration by the pilots. All the four pilots were extremely qualified and belonged to the elite Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE) that is based in Gwalior. A technical fault is not being ruled out as some accounts suggested that one of the two choppers veered off-course in what seemed like a technical hitch. A final word on the crash would, however, take time as investigators will have to comb through the debris, radio conversations and flight data recorders to piece together the cause behind the accident. The rare accident — the last mid-air collision for the Armed Forces took place in 2002 when two IL 38 Naval aircraft crashed during a demonstration flight in Goa with 12 casualties — has evoked concern as the helicopters involved are the backbone of the IAF’s transport fleet. The last fatal crash involving an Mi-17 took place in November 2010 in Tawang in which 12 service personnel were killed. The IAF has entrusted its confidence in the Mi-17 fleet and currently has 80 new variants of the chopper on order.