IAF’s Apache copter makes emergency landing, pilots safe

New Delhi, April 4

Advertisement

An Apache helicopter of the Indian Air Force made a precautionary landing during an operational sortie in Ladakh on Wednesday. Both pilots are safe.

The copter was forced to land at an altitude of more than 12,000 feet at a location north of Khardung La. During the forced landing, the copter sustained damage due to the undulating terrain and high altitude, the IAF said in a brief statement. “A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause,” it added.

The IAF imported 22 Apache from US company Boeing in a contract signed in 2015 at cost of Rs 14, 910 crore. The copter is used to attack targets on ground and in air. A few of these copters have been deployed in Ladakh since the military standoff with China.