Western Air Command - Latest News Update, Information, Photos & Videos on Western Air Command at Lokmat Times

It is emerging that one of the officers in the ATC tower first cleared the ill-fated Mi-17 chopper to return to the base but on the other hand also communicated to the air defence unit that there was no aircraft due to land at the air base, sources in the Air Force told ."During the probe, it is emerging that the officer first called the Mi-17 back to the Srinagar air base when it was going for a mission and then when the air defence officers sought to know if any own aircraft was coming towards the air base, they were told that no chopper or aircraft was inbound at the base," they said.The Court of Inquiry into the accident was completed once but had to be reopened as the officers facing the trial wanted to question more witnesses, the sources said.Apart from the officer in the ATC, one officer in the air defence of the air base is likely to be court-martialed for the crash of its Mi-17V5 chopper near Srinagar on February 27.The chopper crashed near Budgam on the morning of February 27 when Pakistan launched a counter-attack in response to the Balakot air strikes.The Mi-17 chopper crashed with six occupants on board and reports had emerged that the chopper was hit by its own air defence system SPYDER which is deployed in Srinagar. However, the overall information will only be disclosed once the investigation is complete.Top Defence Ministry and Air Force officials are of the view that severe punishment should be given to personnel found guilty for the accident.The Mi-17 V-5 chopper belonged to the 154 Helicopter Unit and it crashed within 10 minutes after taking off while the Indian fighter jets were involved in an aerial dogfight with Pakist jets. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was also a part of this dogfight.One civilian on the ground also lost his life along with the six IAF personnel on board.The court of inquiry was delayed as the black box of the chopper was reportedly stolen by the villagers in Budgam and some locals had also reportedly pelted stones at military vehicles after they approached the crash site.Air Marshal Hari Kumar was the Air Officer Commanding in Chief of the Western Air Command when the Balakot air strikes happened in Pakistan. He retired on February 28- a day after the Mi-17 chopper had crashed.( With inputs from ANI )

Home

City

Latest News

Cricket

LT Premium

National

International

Maharashtra

Opinions

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

Nagpur

Entertainment

Photos

Business

Technology

Sports

Lifestyle

Social Viral

Lokmat Games

Health

Pahalgam Terror Attack

Tahawwur Rana

IPL 2025

CM Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai Local

Weather Update

Western Air CommandFOLLOW

Western air command, Latest News

National :Dhanoa asks IAF personnel to maintain high vigil

Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa on Friday asked IAF personnel to maintain "very high level of vigil and preparedness" to ensure the ground defence of the airbases against the backdrop of intelligence inputs about terrorists planning to carry out a Pathan ...

Politics :Confusion created by IAF officer in ATC being blamed for Mi-17 chopper crash over Srinagar

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was also a part of this dogfight. ...