- Major General among two pilots wounded, Army orders inquiry
- Viral selfie from crash site sparks debate
Srinagar: Three Indian Army officers, including a senior Major General, were injured after a Cheetah helicopter crashed in the high-altitude Tangste sector near Leh in Ladakh earlier this week, once again spotlighting safety concerns surrounding the Army’s ageing helicopter fleet.
The crash occurred on May 20 during an operational sortie in the mountainous region, officials said on Saturday. Those injured in the incident include Major General Sachin Mehta, a Lieutenant Colonel and a Major. All three sustained minor injuries and were evacuated safely after the helicopter went down in the rugged terrain.
According to officials, the helicopter was piloted by a Lieutenant Colonel and a Major, while Major General Mehta, General Officer Commanding of the Army’s 3 Infantry Division, was onboard as a passenger.
Soon after the crash, a selfie reportedly taken by Major General Mehta at the accident site surfaced on social media and quickly went viral, with many calling the officers’ survival miraculous given the difficult terrain and operational challenges in Ladakh’s high-altitude sectors.
The Army has ordered a Court of Inquiry to ascertain the cause of the crash.
The incident has once again triggered debate over the continued deployment of the decades-old Cheetah helicopters, which have remained operational since the 1970s and are extensively used for logistics, reconnaissance and casualty evacuation missions in remote Himalayan areas, including Siachen and forward border posts.
Over the years, the fleet has witnessed several crashes and emergency landings, raising repeated concerns over operational safety in extreme weather and terrain conditions.
The Cheetah helicopters had played a crucial role during Operation Meghdoot in 1984 when Indian forces secured strategic positions in the Siachen Glacier. However, despite their proven high-altitude capability, concerns regarding ageing systems and reliability have continued to grow.
The crash comes at a time when the Indian military maintains heightened operational readiness in Ladakh amid continuing strategic tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Officials said the injured officers are stable and under medical observation.
