India Air Force Chief admits Mi- 17 crash was their “big mistake”
By Bhartendu Sharma Published on 4 Oct 2019 12:06 PM GMT
Kolkata: India Air Force (IAF) chief Rakesh Kumar Bhadauria, on Friday admitted that the Mi- 17 chopper crash that took place on February 27 was a “big mistake” on the part of the Air Force. The crash left as many as six IAF personnel dead.
While speaking to media persons on October 4, the Air Chief Marshal said, “Court of Inquiry has been completed. It was our mistake, as our missile hit our own chopper. We will take action against the two officers. We accept, this was our big mistake and we will ensure that such mistakes are not repeated in the future.”
In the incident, the chopper was hit by the SPYDER air defence missile over Budgam. The helicopter was being flown by Sqdn leader Siddharth Vashisht with other members Sqdn Ldr Ninad Mandvgane, Kumar Pandey, Sergeant Vikrant Sehrawat, Corporals Deepak Pandey and Pankaj Kumar.
It crashed at Budgam after taking off from Srinagar airport, soon after Pakistani Air Force jets attempted to violate the Indian airspace on February 27.
