Fallen IAF copter retrieved from Ladakh on a truck
An Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter that had carried out a precautionary landing during an operational sortie in Ladakh in April was retrieved by the IAF.
The copter will be repaired at either the home base of Pathankot or at a base repair depot of the IAF. Sources said the copter was brought to Leh by road for further airlift.
The retrieval included engineering and ingenuity to get back the copter from an altitude of 12,000 feet. The Boeing Apache helicopter had made an emergency landing on April 4 at a location north of the Khardung La — a 18,380-feet high pass. Both pilots had been airlifted the same day.
The Tribune had reported about the plan to use a truck to get the copter back on September 9. Since airlifting the copter was impossible from that altitude, an IAF technical team climbed to the site where the copter had made an emergency landing.
An assessment was done and all the parts — some 400 of them —were taken out one-by-one and physically carried by men to the nearest road head and transported to Leh.
The airframe and the engine remained at the site. A specialised crane was readied at the site, and the copter was dismantled and ‘carried’ part-by-part by trained mountaineers to the site. The crane with specialised steel wires lowered the copter onto a truck for further journey to Leh. The IAF had imported 22 such copters from US company Boeing at cost of Rs 14, 910 crore. The copter is used to attack targets on ground and in air. A detachment of the copters has been deployed in Ladakh since the ongoing military stand-off with China.
