Indian Army’s Cheetah Helicopter Crashes in Jammu and Kashmir’s Gurez Sector, One Dead

An Indian Army Cheetah helicopter has crashed in the Baraum area of Gurez sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The search parties of the security forces are reaching the snow-bound area for the rescue of the chopper crew.

Jammu and Kashmir: An Indian Army Cheetah helicopter, on its way to pick up Border Security Force personnel who were unwell, has crashed in the Gurez sector of Jammu and Kashmir.  One pilot has died in the accident while another one has been injured. “In the Army Cheetah helicopter crash in Jammu and Kashmir, one of the two pilots has lost his life while the other one is injured. More details awaited,” Indian Army officials were quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

According to reports, the mishap took place in Gujran Nallah area of Tulail in Gurez tehsil of Bandipora district. The spot is located near the Line of Control with Pakistan.

The helicopter was about to land but “drifted away” because of the weather conditions at the time, an official told Press Trust of India.

A rescue operation has been launched for the pilot and co-pilot who are believed to have ejected safely but there was no word from army officials yet. SDM Gurez has confirmed the accident to news agency PTI.

An Indian Army Cheetah helicopter has crashed in the Baraum area of Gurez sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The search parties of the security forces are reaching the snow-bound area for the rescue of the chopper crew. More details awaited: Defence officials pic.twitter.com/LMFunz5c0a

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2022

The Cheetah is a single-engine helicopters which does not have key features like moving map display, ground proximity warning system and weather radar. It also lacks an autopilot system, which can be disastrous in case a pilot is disoriented in bad weather.

The Army has a fleet of 200 Cheetah helicopters.