Training helicopter crashes India, two pilots killed

Two pilots died after a Chhattisgarh government helicopter in India crashed at Raipur airport on Thursday (May 12) night.

The incident occurred at around 9.10 pm during a flying practice at the Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur under Mana police station limits, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Prashant Agrawal informed.

The pilots on board the state chopper were seriously injured during the crash and immediately taken to a nearby private hospital where they were declared dead.

As per the state government, “It was on a routine training sortie. Initial indications suggest technical malfunction as the cause of crash.”

Captain Gopal Krishna Panda and Captain A P Shrivastava lost their lives in the crash. “A detailed technical investigation at the behest of DGCA and State Government shall be undertaken to ascertain the exact cause,” the government said.