Helicopter en route to Kedarnath crashlands on highway in Rudraprayag due to technical snag, all safe
RUDRAPRAYAG: A helicopter on its way to Kedarnath made an emergency landing on the highway in Rudraprayag district on Saturday after developing a technical snag during take-off, officials said.
However, all pilgrims on board and the pilot are safe, the officials said.
The helicopter had taken off from Badasu base for Kedarnath when it made the emergency landing on the highway near Sirsi following a technical snag during take-off, they said.
Videos on social media showed the Kestrel Aviation helicopter standing in the middle of the highway was dangerously close to populated buildings and with a car damaged by its tail rotor.
Six people on board the helicopter including the pilot, had a narrow escape.
The pilot sustained minor injuries and was rushed to a hospital for treatment.
Kedarnath heli service nodal officer Rahul Chaubey said the incident had not affected the heli shuttle service to the Himalayan temple.
Efforts are underway to remove the helicopter from the highway.
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Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
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NDTV
9 hours ago
- NDTV
Video: Chopper Makes Emergency Landing On Road, Tail Crushes Car
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. A helicopter headed to Kedarnath made an emergency landing on a highway in Uttarakhand due to a technical issue, damaging an unoccupied car. Five pilgrims were safe, but the pilot suffered minor injuries. The incident did not disrupt helicopter services. A helicopter on its way to Kedarnath was forced to land on a highway in Uttarakhand as it developed a technical snag during take-off, coming dangerously close to buildings and its tail rotor damaging an unoccupied car. The five pilgrims on board came out safely, while the pilot sustained minor injuries. The helicopter had taken off from from the Barasu base at 12.52 pm and was to fly the pilgrims for a duration of 45-50 minutes to the Kedarnath pilgrimage. Within minutes of taking off, the pilot reported a suspected issue with the collective control getting stuck. In response, he executed a controlled force landing on the road adjacent to the helipad. Kedarnath heli service nodal officer Rahul Chaubey told PTI that the incident did not affect the helicopter shuttle service to the Himalayan temple. Efforts are underway to remove the helicopter from the highway. The hard landing comes a month after a helicopter on its way to Gangotri temple crashed near Gangnani in Uttarkashi district on May 8, killing six people including five women and the pilot, and leaving one male passenger seriously injured. On May 12, a helicopter returning from Badrinath to Sersi with pilgrims on board was forced to make an emergency landing due to poor visibility in a school playground in Ukhimath. All pilgrims were safe. The helicopter took off again after about an hour when the weather improved. On May 17, a heli ambulance from AIIMS Rishikesh crash-landed near the Kedarnath helipad in Uttarakhand due to damage to its rear part. Fortunately, all three occupants on board - a doctor, a pilot and a medical staff member - escaped unharmed.
NDTV
12 hours ago
- NDTV
Chopper To Kedarnath Makes Emergency Landing On Highway, Passengers Safe
Kedarnath: A helicopter, with five passengers onboard, made an emergency landing in the middle of a highway on today. The chopper, which was owned by Kestrel Aviation Private Limited, was en route from Rudraprayag to Kedarnath in Uttarakhand. The chopper took off at 12:52 pm from the Badasu (Sersi) helipad and landed immediately at the main road in Guptkashi, Rudraprayag district. It experienced a technical snag during take-off, with the collective control getting stuck. The pilot, Captain RPS Sodhi, landed the chopper on the highway adjacent to the helipad to avoid any mishaps. In the video, released by news agency ANI on X (formerly known as Twitter), we can see the helicopter parked in the middle of a road with locals rushing towards the site. A car was damaged in the incident. The pilot sustained minor injuries during the emergency landing and was taken to the hospital, district tourism development officer Rahul Chaubey said. All passengers are safe and unharmed, Mr Chaubey added. Speaking to ANI, Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority said that the rest of the shuttle services are proceeding as normal. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DCGA) has been informed about the matter, UCADA added. According to the DGCA, Kestrel Aviation's AW119 (Reg. VT-RNK) helicopter made a hard landing on the road. 'A team from DAS(NR) is being sent for onsite assessment,' the agency said. This is the latest in a string of helicopter-related incidents reported on the Chardham Yatra route in the past month. A few weeks earlier, an air ambulance helicopter made an emergency landing in Kedarnath due to a technical snag. The chopper reportedly suffered a malfunction in its tail rotor, leading to difficulties in landing. The ambulance had come to Kedarnath to rescue a pilgrim who was reportedly suffering from respiratory distress. The 'Sanjeevani' helicopter ambulance was operated by the Rishikesh branch of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), as reported by news agency PTI. Two doctors and the pilot inside the craft were safe, district tourism development officer Rahul Chaubey said. On May 8, six people, including a pilot, died after their helicopter crash near Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi. The chopper was flying from Dehradun to Harsil helipad. Five of the people who lost their lives were female tourists- Kala Soni (61), Vijaya Reddy (57), Ruchi Aggarwal (56), Radha Aggarwal (79) and Vedavati Kumari (48).
