Indian Air Force chopper topples during training sortie near Allahabad; pilots safe

New Delhi: A Chetak helicopter of the Indian Air Force on Wednesday crash landed in the adjoining district of Kaushambi, minutes after it took off from an airbase on the outskirts of the city. 

Both the pilots are reported to be safe.

The chopper, which took off from Bamrauli air base, toppled when the pilots tried to crash-land after it developed a technical snag, news agency PTI quoted sources in IAF as saying.

According to Defence PRO Group Captain, BB Pande, the IAF Chetak helicopter took off from the Central Air Command headquarters at Bamrauli, 20 kms from here, on a routine sortie with two pilots on board.

"Shortly after take-off, the helicopter developed a technical failure following which the pilots tried to land it in the fields. The land was uneven and the helicopter toppled while landing, though both pilots ejected safely," he said in a statement.

A court of inquiry (COI) has been ordered by the IAF to ascertain the cause of the accident.

(With PTI inputs)