Army chopper crashes in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh: The crash involved the India-made Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) made by HAL for the Indian Army and Indian Air Force.
Sources verified that all the soldiers aboard the helicopter when it crashed on Friday in the Upper Siang area of Arunachal Pradesh were killed after the fifth body was reportedly discovered today.
The Army stated that the weather was clear and the pilots were experienced, but added that the Air Traffic Control (ATC) had received a "may day" call just before the accident, indicating a technical or mechanical issue. However, the terrain is "extremely challenging" due to the hills' steep inclines and dense forest, according to a statement from the army.
'May Day' call refers to a distress signal conveyed to an aircraft crew to the ATC or ground staff.
"An army aviation ALH WSI helicopter which took off from Lekabali crashed today at 10:43 am around Migging (South of Tutting) in Arunachal Pradesh" said PRO (Defence) Tezpur. Jummar Basar, the Upper Siang Police Superintendent, told ANI over the phone, "The site of the accident is not connected through the road. A rescue team has been rushed and all other details are awaited."
"The pilots had more than 600 total flying hours on ALH-WSI and a combined total of more than 1800 service flying hours. In June 2015, the aircraft was placed into service ", it read. To investigate the crash, a court of inquiry has been established.
A Friday morning crash involved an Indian Army Aviation Advance Light Helicopter (Weapon Systems Integrated) - ALH WSI located at Likabai in Assam. The Army has reported that it is attempting to recover the fifth body after yesterday's recovery of four.
On October 21, 2022, at 10:43 a.m., an Indian Army Aviation Advance Light Helicopter (Weapon Systems Integrated) - ALH WSI, based in Likabali (Assam), crashed in the general vicinity of Migging (South of Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh).
Although there is no road leading to the disaster scene, teams of helicopter rescuers were dispatched there. Images showed some of the debris on fire.
After taking off from Likabali on Friday morning, the chopper carrying army soldiers was on a routine mission. The collision happened at 10:43 a.m.
Three joint teams from the army and the air force were involved in the rescue operation with one Mi-17 and two Dhruv helicopters because there are no motorable roads connecting to the settlement other than a hanging bridge. According to reports, local residents assisted in the rescue efforts.
The state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) created and developed the ALH (WSI), also known as the Rudra Mark IV, an effective attack helicopter to fill extremely specific missions in the Indian Army and the IAF.
Given the persistent border dispute with China in eastern Ladakh, the Indian Army's aviation branch has been deploying the Weapon System Integrated (WSI) variant of the Advanced Light Helicopter Rudra in the area to give its tactical missions more bite.
An Indian Army pilot died earlier this year on October 5 in a Cheetah helicopter crash near the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
One of the pilots passed away from his injuries after the accident on October 5, 2022, while the other received the appropriate care. Lieutenant Colonel Saurabh Yadav was the pilot who passed away.
It should be mentioned that there has been a history of helicopter crashes in Arunachal Pradesh, most of which were caused by adverse weather. Even the former chief minister Dorjee Khandu perished in a helicopter crash in the North East state.
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