M A I N   N E W S

On training sortie, 2 Air Force copters collide mid-air, 9 dead
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 30
Nine Indian Air Force personnel, including five pilots, were today killed when two MI-17 choppers collided mid-air just after take-off from the Jamnagar airbase in Gujarat.

The Russian-made twin-engine copters were on a training sortie and flying in close formation. The crash occurred at 12.05 pm, five minutes after the take-off,” said IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Gerard Galway. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered. This is the first-ever MI-17 mid-air collision for the IAF.

Among the dead are three Wing Commanders - Vikram Singh, S Saxena (a qualified flying instructor) and Ashish Sharma. The other casualties are Squadron Leader Manoj, Flying Officer Srijith and 4 air warriors - an IAF nomenclature for other ranks - Patel, Rana, Murugan and Sahni. It is learnt that at least three of the officers were not based in Jamanagar and had come for special combat training from forward bases.

Preliminary reports suggest a pilot error could have caused the crash, said sources. The choppers were headed for field firing practice and flying close to each other. Under the IAF guidelines, the Mi-17 choppers have to maintain a distance of 60 meters from each other. A Mi-17 on such missions flies at a speed of 180 km per hour. “It appears that one of the pilots took a wrong turn or followed a command incorrectly like taking a left turn instead of right or vice-versa,” said sources. “In such a scenario, there would have been no reaction time for pilots to correct the error, leading to collision. In this case, the upper rotors had come in contact causing the collision,” said officials. A Wing Commander who flies such a chopper in tactical flying formation would ideally have a flying experience of 1,200 to 2,500 hours. The choppers belonged to the Tactical Development Establishment, Gwalior. Sources said the choppers turned into a fireball after collision and the bodies were badly charred.

All in 5 minutes

• The Mi-17 choppers took off from the Jamnagar airbase at 12 pm and crashed five minutes later
• The IAF copters were headed for field firing practice and flying in close formation
• Preliminary reports suggest a pilot error could have caused the crash. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered