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ICG chopper co-pilot hurt in crash landing dies at INHS Asvini

Assistant Commandant Penny Chaudhary, co-pilot of the ICG Chetak helicopter, had joined ICG in Dec 2013 and was a native of Karnal in Haryana.

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File photo of Assistant Commandant Penny Chaudhary
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The 27-year-old co-pilot of an Indian Coast Guard (ICG) helicopter, which made a crash landing in Raigad district on March 10, died on Tuesday after battling for life for 17 days.

Assistant Commandant Penny Chaudhary, co-pilot of the ICG Chetak helicopter, had joined ICG in Dec 2013 and was a native of Karnal in Haryana.

According to Coast Guard PRO (west) Commandant Avinandan Mitra, Chaudhary was on life support following surgery for head injury. She was admitted at the naval hospital INHS Asvini at Colaba.

Chaudhary had suffered internal bleeding after the rotor of the helicopter struck her head. The helicopter was on a routine sortie with four passengers -- Deputy Commandant Balwinder Singh, Assistant Commandant Chaudhary, and two divers Sandeep and Baljeet -- when it crash landed.

Captain Chaudhary was the first to disembark from the crashed helicopter, but was hit on her helmet by the rotor blade, which was moving slowly. When the helicopter engine shut mid air, the pilot and the co-pilot used the rotor's movement to glide the chopper towards the shore to prevent it from falling in the sea. They tried to land the helicopter on a sandy part of the beach, but could not, and it landed on a rocky patch on Nadagram beach.

"Chaudhary has recorded 555 hours of flying hours to her credit. She was a brilliant, soft spoken officer who was popular among her colleagues for her professionalism and social conduct. Chaudhary with her presence of mind and professional handling of the incident could manoeuvre the helicopter for safe landing and ensured safety of the other crew members. She would be deeply remembered by the ICG fraternity for her commendable devotion to duty and selfless service towards the nation," said an ICG official, requesting anonymity.

Co-pilot's body has been handed to her family and her last rites would take place at Karnal, officials said.

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