Snag forces IAF training chopper to make emergency landing in Vandalur

CHENNAI: An Indian Air Force (IAF) training helicopter made an emergency landing at an open ground in Keerapakkam village in Vandalur on Monday (July 6) following a technical snag mid-air.

The training helicopter, bearing registration number ZA 1420, had taken off from the Indian Air Force training station at Tambaram in the morning for routine training with an IAF trainee and a flight instructor aboard.

While the helicopter was flying over Vandalur, a technical problem was detected. The instructor immediately alerted the Tambaram Air Force control room and began searching for a safe location to land the aircraft.

The helicopter was safely brought down on open ground in Keerapakkam at around 11 am. Both the trainee and the instructor managed to get down without injury, and the helicopter landed without damage.

The sudden landing of a military helicopter in the village excited residents. A large number of people gathered at the spot after news spread that an Air Force helicopter had landed in the locality.

Soon, the Thazhambur police rushed to the spot and made security arrangements to prevent the villagers from approaching the chopper.

Meanwhile, two more helicopters were dispatched from the Tambaram Air Force Station.

One carried technical experts from the IAF, while the other transported spare parts and equipment required to repair the stranded helicopter.

Officials said the helicopter was expected to be repaired and flown back to the Tambaram Air Force Station once the technical issue was rectified.