Another big helicopter accident was averted in the midst of Chardham Yatra, but this time the pictures are shocking. A video of an emergency landing has surfaced on the highway of a helicopter of Castral Aviation, which is flying to Kedarnath. It can be clearly seen in the video how the helicopter makes emergency landing on the road and hit a car parked nearby.
This video of about 40 seconds shows that the helicopter comes down rapidly and hit a car parked on the side of the highway during landing. The car gets shattered badly. The local people present in the video seem to be nervous, fear on someone’s face and mobile camera in someone’s hand. But getting down of the helicopter intensifies everyone’s heartbeat.
Helicopter came down quickly, people shocked
The incident took place near Bharshasu Helipad near Sirsi, where soon after takeoff, pilot Captain RPS Sodhi felt technical disturbances in the collective control of the helicopter. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, he made an emergency landing on the highway. It can be seen in the video that before landing, there is chaos on the roadside and people run away after seeing the helicopter coming down.
5 passengers and pilots are safe, heavy loss to vehicle
All the 5 pilgrims in the helicopter are safe and were taken out in time. The pilot has been admitted to the hospital after complaining of back pain. In the accident, the back of the helicopter has also been damaged, while a vehicle parked on the road has been completely damaged.
DGCA and UCADA started investigating
After the incident, Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have started investigation. Initial information has revealed technical fault, but after the video became public, questions are arising whether the existing helicopter services are capable of facing the pressure of Chardham Yatra?
This fourth helicopter accident in Chardham Yatra
Significantly, this is the fourth helicopter accident after the commencement of Chardham Yatra. A few days ago, the helicopter carrying two doctors of AIIMS was also made near Kedarnath Helipad. These repeated accidents have raised serious questions about the safety of passengers.