IAF helicopter makes emergency landing in Haryana, pilots safe

An Indian Air Force helicopter today made an emergency landing on a field in the district after its pilots noticed smoke coming out of the rear of the chopper, officials said.

The copter developed some technical fault barely 10 minutes of its flight from Sirsa airforce station and landed under emergency conditions on a field in Chindar village, they said.

Both the pilot and co-pilot jumped out of the copter soon after landing when the rear part of the chopper caught fire, they said, adding the flames were extinguished using water from a nearby pond.

The pilots Haseeb Hameed and Arunima Vidheta were safe, the officials said, adding the copter was on a training mission from Sirsa to Ghaziabad airforce station.

A probe was ordered and a team of airforce engineers and officers from district administration reached the spot.