ITANAGAR: Elaborate search is underway to locate the black box (flight recorder) of the ill-fated Indian Army helicopter that crashed in the hilly terrains of Arunachal Pradesh on October 21.
According to reports, personnel of the 21 para special forces (SF) of the Indian Army were airdropped at the crash site in Arunachal Pradesh to recover the black box (flight recorder).
On October 21, a Rudra advanced light helicopter (ALH) of the Indian Army, with five personnel onboard, including two pilots, had crashed near Migging village in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
All the five Indian Army personnel died in the tragic helicopter crash in Arunachal Pradesh.
The crash site has been identified as Singging near the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh.
A technical or mechanical failure is suspected to be the likely cause of the helicopter crash.
Prior to the crash, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) had received a ‘May Day’ call suggesting a technical or mechanical failure.
“This (technical failure) will form the focus of the court of inquiry, which has been immediately constituted to investigate the causes of the accident,” a defence statement said.
The five Indian Army personnel to have been killed in the helicopter crash in Arunachal Pradesh are: Major Mustafa Bohara (27), Major Vikas Bhambu (27), Sepoy Rohitash Kumar (33) and Craftsman (Engine Technician) KV Ashwin and Havildar Brijesh Sinha from Assam.
Major Mustafa Bohara and Major Vikas Bhambu were the pilots of the helicopter.
“It is reported that the weather was good for flying operations. The pilots had more than 600 combined flying hours on ALH-WSI and over 1,800 service flying hours between them. The aircraft was inducted into service in June 2015,” the statement stated.