Dramatic Video Shows Air Force Chopper Crash In Arunachal That Killed 7

Asia

A video has emerged which clearly shows the crash of an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter in Arunachal Pradesh earlier this month that killed seven military personnel on board.

The Mi-17 V5 chopper was on an air maintenance mission at an altitude of 17,000 feet when it crashed around 6 AM near Tawang on October 6. The helicopter was flying to Yangtse to drop off kerosene jerry cans at a forward Army camp.

The 19-second clip, accessed by NDTV, shows the parachute of one of the cans getting entangled with the tail rotor of the chopper which then separates from the helicopter. The video confirms that the tail rotor separated from the helicopter after being struck by a kerosene can which was being airdropped.

A helicopter cannot fly without its tail rotor.

The air maintenance mission was being flown by two very experienced Air Fore pilots at an altitude of 17,000 feet.

The Mi-17 V5 crashes moments later.

All personnel on board perished. The charred bodies of seven, including the pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and two army officers, were found at the crash site close to the border with China.

Those who died were Wing Commander B Upadhyay, Squadron Leader S Tiwari, Master Warrant Officer AK Singh and Sergeants Gautam and Satish Kumar and army soldiers HN Deka and E Balaji.