Emergency landing by IAF chopper in Haryana
By IANSSunday, July 25, 2010
FATEHABAD - An Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter on a training flight was forced to make an emergency landing near the fields of Chinder village in Haryana’s Fatehabad district Sunday after its tail caught fire due to a technical snag, an officer said. There were no casualties.
“Just 10 minutes into the flight, the pilots Hasib Hamid and Arunima Vidita heard a blast and observed that smoke was coming out of the tail. Sensing trouble they made an emergency landing in the fields in village Chinder,” said an IAF official here.
“Immediately after the landing, the pilots jumped out from the chopper. With the help of the local villagers, they brought water from a nearby pond and extinguish the flames,” he added.
J.S. Lamba, police chief of Fatehabad district, told IANS: “The IAF helicopter had flown from Sirsa air base and was scheduled to land at Hindon air force station in Uttar Pradesh.”
“Some people of the area panicked initially, but police and IAF officials immediately reached the spot and controlled the situation,” Lamba said.
IAF officials were checking the helicopter to ascertain the exact nature of the snag. Fatehabad town is around 280 km from Chandigarh.
