Apache makes emergency landing, 2nd in week

An Apache attack helicopter of the IAF made a precautionary landing in the fields near Pathankot on Friday afternoon. This is the third such incident involving this type of helicopter in the past year and second in a week.

The helicopter touched down in the fields adjacent to Nangalpur village in Pathankot district following a cockpit emergency warning. Local administration officials said there was no damage to property or injury to any person in the incident. The two-man crew is also said to be safe.

IAF personnel from the Pathankot airbase, where the Apache helicopters are based, arrived at the site to inspect the helicopter and take remedial action. In the past, there have been instances when other types of helicopters such as the Mi-17, Dhruv and Chetak had to make precautionary landings.

Last week, an Apache had made an emergency landing in the fields near Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh during a routine training sortie. After intensive checks on ground, the helicopter was then flown to the nearby Sarsawa airbase.

In April last year, an Apache, on an operational mission, was badly damaged while carrying out a precautionary landing near Khardung La, the world’s second-highest motorable pass, in Ladakh. The rugged terrain of the area made for a hard landing and weeks later, the helicopter was evacuated from the site by road on trailer.

The IAF had inducted the AH-64 Apache in September 2019 with the 125 Helicopter Squadron at Pathankot in Punjab and later, another unit — the 137 Helicopter Squadron — was also equipped with this aircraft. A total of 22 AH-64 helicopters were procured by the IAF and the Army went in for six of its own.

Manufactured by US aerospace giant Boeing, the Apache is heavily armed with air-to-surface missiles, rockets and a chin-mounted machine gun, along with sensors for target acquisition and night operations.

Apaches are designed to carry out attack missions in support of ground formations. Anti-tank, bunker busting, neutralising troop concentrations, destroying vehicles, field logistic hubs and communication nodes are among its role. It carries a crew of two.

Apaches were inducted to replace the older Soviet-origin Mi-25/35 helicopter gunships that had been in service since the 1980s. These helicopters were deployed along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh following the stand-off with China in 2020 and continue to perform operations in high-altitude areas.

Punjab