Indian Army chopper crash: Check deadliest helicopter accidents in India involving military personnel

The tragic helicopter crash in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh on October 21 jolted the Indian Army. The mortal remains of all five military personnel were found today after the search and rescue operation was completed. An Indian Army ALH helicopter carrying five Army personnel including two pilots, was on regular sorties when it crashed at 10.43 am on Friday near Migging, around 25 km south of Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh. It is reported that the weather was good for flying operations. The pilots had more than 600 combined flying hours on ALH-WSI and over 1,800 service flying hours between them. 

The aircraft was inducted into service in June 2015. Before the crash, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) had received a 'May Day' call suggesting a technical or mechanical failure. However, this isn’t the first time such a horrific crash took place. There have been incidents that have left the nation in shock. 

Also read: Indian Army chopper crash Update: All 5 onboard ALH helicopter dead, bodies recovered

Here's the list of deadliest helicopter accidents involving military personnel: 

Cheetah helicopter crash: October 2022

Earlier this month a Cheetah helicopter of the Indian Army crashed in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh near the boundary with China on Wednesday morning, killing one of the two pilots onboard. The incident happened around 10 am during a routine sortie in a forward area. 

Cheetah Helicopter crash: March 2022

Another Cheetah, a multi-role, multi-purpose, and highly-maneuverable helicopter, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), crashed in Gurez, Jammu & Kashmir in March 2022.

Mi-17 V5 chopper crash: December 2021

This is one of the most tragic chopper crashes where the former chief of defense staff General Bipin Rawat along with his wife died. Bad weather conditions were responsible for this crash. Apart from General Bipin Rawat and his wife, 12 others were killed who were onboard the Air Force Mi-17 V5 chopper. The helicopter crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on December 8, 2021.

ALH-WSI helicopter crash Pathankot: August 2021

Another ALH-WSI had crashed into the massive Ranjit Sagar reservoir near Pathankot on 3 August last year, in which two army pilots were killed.

Dhruv helicopter Indian Army crash: October 2019

In October 2019, a Dhruv helicopter of the Indian Army, carrying the then chief of the northern command, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, and other senior officers, had crash-landed in Jammu & Kashmir’s Poonch.

Apart from helicopter crashes in the Indian Army, there have been several chopper crashes that have taken place otherwise too. A tragic chopper crash took place on October 18 when a helicopter carrying pilgrims crashed after takeoff from the Kedarnath shrine near Garud Chatti in Rudraprayag at around 11:40 am.