Overview
- A HAL Cheetah crashed in the Tangste area near Leh on Wednesday, May 20, with a lieutenant colonel and a major piloting and Major General Sachin Mehta on board.
- All three occupants sustained only minor injuries, were treated by medical teams and are reported to be safe and stable.
- The Indian Army has ordered a Court of Inquiry to examine technical, operational and environmental factors that led to the mishap.
- Officials told Hindustan Times that an initial probe indicates a technical failure causing loss of engine power and that the court is expected to submit its findings in about two months.
- The accident has intensified scrutiny of the decades-old Cheetah/Chetak fleet and increased pressure to speed induction of HAL’s Light Utility Helicopters and explore interim leasing to meet the army’s estimated need of roughly 250 light helicopters.