Army copter crashes in Arunachal, 1 pilot killed

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 5

An Army pilot, Lt Col Saurabh Yadav, was killed and another sustained serious injuries after a Cheetah helicopter crashed in a forward area near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh on Wednesday.

Another injured

• Cheetah copter crashed in Tawang during routine sortie
• One of two pilots succumbed to injuries during treatment
• Cause of crash not immediately known; probe underway
• The Army is in the process to replace the single-engine copters with advanced ones

The incident took place around 10 am during a routine sortie in the forward area, a defence spokesperson from Tezpur, Assam, said. After the crash, both pilots were airlifted to the nearest military hospital. Lt Col Yadav succumbed to his injuries during treatment. “The cause of the crash is not known at this stage. Further details are being ascertained,” the spokesperson added.

The single-engine Cheetah helicopters are based on Alouette Aérospatiale 315B Lama of France designed in the 1950s. The Army has already planned to phase out Cheetah helicopters and replace these with twin-engine advanced light helicopters.

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