The nearly half-a-century-old Chetak
helicopter of the Indian Navy crashed on Monday at Dabolim naval base in Goa, killing
three personnel on board.
File Photo of Chetak helicopter
Prima facie the accident is attributed to technical reasons.
The crash took place at 10 am in the morning when the rotary wing aircraft nosedived
during landing. Sources indicate that one of the rotor blades of the helicopter
broke while landing and the machine caught fire and crashed on the runway.
“A board of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the causes
behind it,” a navy spokesperson said in Delhi. The helicopter was flying from
Mumbai to Bangalore and had a refueling halt at Hansa Naval Air base.
(Update:
(Update:
The French-built single-engine Chetak or Alouettes
helicopter was first inducted in the Navy in 1961 and since then it has
been in service with the force. The Navy has been long looking for its
replacements. In August the Navy had floated a tender to procure 56
utility helicopters under a $1 billion deal. The Request for Proposal
has been sent to many companies including Boeing, Sikorsky, Bell
Helicopters, Eurocopter, Finmeccanica, Augusta Westland, Kamov and
Rosoboronexport among others.
The
replacement is expected to be equipped for anti-submarine warfare role
and with night capability radars. The outdated Chetak helicopters do not
have night operations or fighting capability. As against the Chetak,
the new acquired helicopters are required to be twin engine.
The
Indian Navy presently operates 100 helicopters and most of them ageing.
It has indigenous Advanced Light Helicopters (ALHs) Dhruv, Westland
SeaKing, Sikorsky SeaKing, Chetaks, and Kamov's Ka-25, Ka-28 and Ka-31
helicopters.
No comments:
Post a Comment