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http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/...chal-pradesh-7-soldiers-killed/1/1077563.html
The video shows tail rotors of the chopper being hit by a fuel jerry can while it was being air dropped. The chopper is seen hanging in the air for seconds before crashing. Senior officer wants those who 'loaded the jerry cans' to be questioned
Did negligence kill seven soldiers, including officers, when a Mi-17-V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Arunachal Pradesh early this month?
A video accessed exclusively by India Today shows the Russian helicopter dropping like a ton of bricks.
On October 6, a Mi-17-V5 helicopter of the IAF was on a routine "maintenance mission", dropping fuel oil to the faraway post of Yangste along the Line of Actual Control- the de-facto border between India and China - when it crashed, killing seven soldiers onboard.
The video accessed by India Today has been authenticated by the senior Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials. The video shows the tail rotors of the helicopter being hit by a fuel jerry can when it was being air dropped. The rotors disintegrated immediately on being hit. The helicopter is seen hanging on the air for seconds before crashing.
Top MoD officials told India Today that a Court of Inquiry (a fact-finding investigation) into the incident has unearthed disturbing facts that border negligence.
As reported by India Today earlier, the Mi-17-V5 took off from the Khirmu airfield, maintained by the Indian Army, and the kerosene oil jerry cans were filled and loaded by the Indian Army soldiers.
Inquiries have revealed that parachutes fastened to kerosene oil jerry cans weren't "lashed properly", leading to the death of seven soldiers.
As the video shows, at least one jerry can detached from the parachute and hit the tail rotor. The helicopter thereafter lost control and dropped like a stone, top sources told India Today.
The inquiry has also revealed that the fuel jerry cans shouldn't have been on the helicopter in the first place. "The handles of the jerry cans were so weak that they couldn't have held on to a parachute," a senior MoD official, aware of the inquiry, told India Today.
"There are clear standard operating procedures on how supplies including fuel are air dropped. The pilots followed the drill, including trying to hold the helicopter steady after losing the tail rotor. One needs to look at how these jerry cans were loaded on to the aircraft," a senior helicopter pilot aware of the sequence of events that led to crash told India Today. He added, "Those who loaded the jerry cans into the helicopters should perhaps be asked."
The Russian made Mi17-V5 helicopters were inducted by the IAF in 2013 and are considered to be state-of-the-art.
The video shows tail rotors of the chopper being hit by a fuel jerry can while it was being air dropped. The chopper is seen hanging in the air for seconds before crashing. Senior officer wants those who 'loaded the jerry cans' to be questioned
Did negligence kill seven soldiers, including officers, when a Mi-17-V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Arunachal Pradesh early this month?
A video accessed exclusively by India Today shows the Russian helicopter dropping like a ton of bricks.
On October 6, a Mi-17-V5 helicopter of the IAF was on a routine "maintenance mission", dropping fuel oil to the faraway post of Yangste along the Line of Actual Control- the de-facto border between India and China - when it crashed, killing seven soldiers onboard.
The video accessed by India Today has been authenticated by the senior Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials. The video shows the tail rotors of the helicopter being hit by a fuel jerry can when it was being air dropped. The rotors disintegrated immediately on being hit. The helicopter is seen hanging on the air for seconds before crashing.
Top MoD officials told India Today that a Court of Inquiry (a fact-finding investigation) into the incident has unearthed disturbing facts that border negligence.
As reported by India Today earlier, the Mi-17-V5 took off from the Khirmu airfield, maintained by the Indian Army, and the kerosene oil jerry cans were filled and loaded by the Indian Army soldiers.
Inquiries have revealed that parachutes fastened to kerosene oil jerry cans weren't "lashed properly", leading to the death of seven soldiers.
As the video shows, at least one jerry can detached from the parachute and hit the tail rotor. The helicopter thereafter lost control and dropped like a stone, top sources told India Today.
The inquiry has also revealed that the fuel jerry cans shouldn't have been on the helicopter in the first place. "The handles of the jerry cans were so weak that they couldn't have held on to a parachute," a senior MoD official, aware of the inquiry, told India Today.
"There are clear standard operating procedures on how supplies including fuel are air dropped. The pilots followed the drill, including trying to hold the helicopter steady after losing the tail rotor. One needs to look at how these jerry cans were loaded on to the aircraft," a senior helicopter pilot aware of the sequence of events that led to crash told India Today. He added, "Those who loaded the jerry cans into the helicopters should perhaps be asked."
The Russian made Mi17-V5 helicopters were inducted by the IAF in 2013 and are considered to be state-of-the-art.
