Kedarnath: A helicopter carrying six pilgrims encountered a technical glitch necessitating an emergency landing in Kedarnath, just 100 meters away from the helipad.
The helicopter experienced a technical malfunction in its rear motor, forcing the pilot to initiate an abrupt landing roughly 100 meters prior to the designated helipad.
All passengers and the pilot escaped unhurt. According to the district’s disaster management officer in Rudraprayag, “A helicopter operated by Kestrel Aviation Company departed from Sirsi helipad bound for Sh Kedarnath Dham, carrying six passengers and a pilot. However, at approximately 7:05 a.m., it had to make an emergency landing around 100 meters short of the Kedarnath helipad due to a technical issue.”
The helicopter encountered a hydraulic failure as it approached the Kedarnath helipad, causing it to spiral out of control. Swiftly responding to the crisis, the pilot skilfully guided the helicopter to touch down in an open field adjacent to the helipad. Despite sustaining minor damage to its tail section upon landing, the helicopter remained upright,and all the passengers were safe.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will investigate the incident.
Narrow escape for passengers /people at Kedarnath today :
– Kestral Aviation’s Agusta A119 Koala helicopter VT-CLR operating Sersi- Kedarnath loses control, lands short of helipad
– Crew, passengers safe. @DGCAIndia investigating.
– Dramatic video :
— Tarun Shukla (@shukla_tarun) May 24, 2024
