Hummingbird News Desk
MUMBAI, 8 MARCH: An Indian Navy’s Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) with three crew members on board, ditched into the Arabian Sea off the Mumbai coast on Wednesday. The crew members were rescued from the sea waters by a naval patrol team soon after they exited the helicopter safely.
The incident occurred during a routine sortie when the ALH reportedly experienced a sudden loss of power and rapid loss of weight, leading to the fall above the sea. The pilot managed to carry out a controlled ditching over the sea water, and the air crew came out of the chopper unharmed.
The Indian Navy immediately launched a rescue operation, and the trio was saved by a naval patrol vessel which rushed to the site of the accident. The crew members were shifted to the helicopter base, INS Shikra, where they underwent a medical examination and have been declared as “fine.”
The ditched chopper had deployed its emergency flotation gears, and efforts are on to salvage it, even as the Indian Navy has ordered an inquiry into the cause of the incident.
The identities and ranks of the crew members have not been revealed. The incident highlights the challenges faced by the Indian Navy in maintaining the safety and readiness of its aviation assets.
Tags: #IndianNavy #AdvancedLightHelicopter #ArabianSea #INSShikra
