Dreadful and unfortunate; Indian Army Cheetah helicopter crashes in Bhutan leading to death of both pilots

New Delhi, September 27: In an unfortunate incident, an Indian Army Cheetah helicopter crashed in Bhutan leading to the death of two pilots. The Indian Army pilot who died in the crash was of Lt Col (Lieutenant colonel) rank while the other was a Bhutanese Army pilot training with the Indian Army. The helicopter went out of radio and visual contact at around 1 pm while it was on its way from Khirmu in Arunanchal Pradesh to Yongfulla.

After receiving information about the crash, ground-level Search and Rescue Operations were launched immediately to locate the wreckage.

This year in June, an Antonov An-32 twin-engine turboprop transport aircraft belonging to the Indian Air Force crashed in Arunachal Pradesh. The plane was en route from Jorhat Airport in Assam to Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh when it lost contact with the ground control 33 minutes after takeoff. All the 13 people on board died in the crash and the wreckage was located near Pari hills close to Gatte village after a search operation which lasted a week.

Considered one of the deadliest aerial routes in the world, the region was notoriously known as "Skyway to Hell" for World War II pilots. The mighty Himalayas, dense vegetation and cloud make it hard for pilots to fly in this region and this was one of the main reasons why the Indian Air Force found it hard to locate the wreckage of the Antonov An-32.