Two officers killed in Army helicopter crash in J&K
Rajat Pandit, TNN | Feb 11, 2015, 10.32PM IST


Two officers were killed when their helicopter crashed in the Ganderbal area of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday night.
NEW DELHI: In yet another helicopter crash in the armed forces, two officers were killed when their advanced light helicopter Dhruv crashed in the Ganderbal area of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday night.

The Army said the Indigenous Dhruv helicopter, which had taken from Srinagar, was on a night training sortie when the accident took at Safapura at about 7.43 pm. "The two pilots, a Lt-Col and a major, were killed in the crash. Their bodies were found when the search and rescue party reached the crash site at 9 pm," said an officer.

A court of inquiry ordered into the mishap will ascertain the exact reason for the crash. But the twin-engine Dhruvs, manufactured by defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics, have had a worrisome flight safety record.

As reported by TOI last month, it has also adversely impacted the plan to export the Dhruvs in large numbers. Ecuador, for instance, recently ordered "restricted operations" of the seven Dhruv choppers acquired from India after four mishaps.

In India, in July last year, two officers and five other IAF personnel were killed when their 5.5-tonne Dhruv helicopter crashed in a field near Sitapur, about 70 km from Lucknow.

An Army Dhruv had crashed on the glacial heights of Siachen-Saltoro Ridge in May 2013, while another ALH had gone down in Sikkim in April 2011, killing the two pilots and two soldiers on board. In October 2011, a BSF Dhruv had gone down near Ranchi, killing three persons.

The armed forces have inducted over 140 Dhruvs manufactured by HAL since 2002. But the entire fleet has been grounded a few times due to technical snags in the past, which included being found unsuitable for multi-role requirements due to excess weight and limited engine power.

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