An Indian Air Force Mi-17 V5 helicopter crashed at around 0659h
on 06 Oct 17 after getting airborne from a helipad North of Tawang. This was
the second routine air maintenance sortie of the day for the aircraft at a forward area.
The helicopter was carrying supplies to a forward post of the Indian
Army in the hilly terrain. The helicopter crashed close to Dropping Zone
and caught fire immediately. Seven defence personnel were onboard,
included five Indian Air Force personnel Wg Cdr V Upadhyay, Captain of
the aircraft, Sqn Ldr S Tewari, Co-pilot, MWO AK Singh, Flt Gnr,
Sgt Gautam Kumar Flt Engr, and Sgt Satish Kumar, Flt Gnr and two Army
personnel Sep HN Deka and Sep E Balaji, and all of them sustained fatal
injuries during the crash. A court of Enquiry has been ordered to establish
the cause of the accident.
AB/MKR