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DH News Service Bangalore:


Two helicopter pilots of Deccan Aviation had a miraculous escape when a BELL 407 helicopter they were flying crash-landed in the dry Jakkur Lake on Monday evening. The pilots, Captain Vishnu Rawal and Captain R Menon, sustained minor injures.

Minutes after the crash when this reporter visited the spot, officials of Deccan Aviation informed that the BELL-407 sustained a hard landing due to loss of main rotor RPM, but the reason for loss of power was not known, they said.

The landing gears, tail rotor boom and blades and the Perspex canopy have been damaged. The tail rotor boom had broken away from the body. Several residents from the surrounding areas were flocking to see the wreckage.





According to Umesh, an eyewitness of the crash, the helicopter was hovering over the lake and suddenly came down with a bang.

The pilots jumped out of the helicopter even as the rotor blades were rotating, he said. The rotor blades came to a halt after some time. Within minutes officials from the Jakkur aerodrome came and took the two pilots, he said.

Deccan Aviation’s CEO Captain G R Gopinath said the pilots were having a professional check sortie. The helicopter took off from the Jakkur Airfield at 5 pm and hard-landed at 5.15 pm. He said that the helicopter had a sudden loss of rotor RPM. The pilots jumped out of the cockpit and ran to safety after the crash, he said.

The helicopter was being used as a VIP chartered helicopter, said Director of Deccan Aviation, Col Poovaiah.

He said both the pilots were being treated at a private hospital and are out of danger. He said a team from Director General of Civil Aviation was arriving from Delhi to investigate into the crash and added that the site had been cordoned off with the help of police. According to a senior IAF helicopter pilot, the BELL 407 helicopters are known for their superior attributes and as phenomenal aircraft.

They have exceptional hot and high hover capability and unparalleled rotor control authority combined with a fuselage, the officer said.

Large composite panels ensure ruggedness and ease of maintenance, he said. But a rotor failure would make any helicopter a killer coffin. The reasons for such failure could be from power loss to engine shut-down or even hydraulic loss, he said.