Indian Air Force probe finds friendly fire caused February 27 Budgam chopper crash, 5 officers in dock

Five IAF personnel were found guilty for the crash of a Mi-17 helicopter in Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir as a high-level probe concluded that the chopper went down after being hit by a surface-to-air missile on February 27, the day Indian and Pakistani air forces were engaged in a dogfight, military sources said on Friday.

A six-month-long Court of Inquiry into the incident found that the Mi-17 V-5 helicopter was hit by a ground-based missile of the Indian Air Force when the chopper was on its way back to Srinagar airbase, they said. Six IAF personnel on board and a civilian on the ground were killed in the crash.

Five IAF personnel, including the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Srinagar base, were held responsible for the crash and all of them are likely to face severe punishment, sources said. “The guilty personnel will face severe punishment as per provisions of the military law,” said a source, adding that the IAF top brass will decide on the quantum of punishment for those held responsible for the incident.