Helicopter makes emergency landing near Kedarnath; pilot injured, passengers safe

Kedarnath: Five pilgrims and a pilot had a narrow escape on Saturday when their helicopter made an emergency landing on a highway in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district. The Kestrel Aviation aircraft, en route to Kedarnath from the Badasu base, developed a technical snag shortly after take-off and was forced to land on a road near Sirsi, reported PTI. 

The pilot sustained minor injuries and was taken to a hospital for evaluation, while the five passengers were unharmed. Eyewitnesses said people on the ground panicked as the helicopter appeared to lose balance before crash-landing dangerously close to buildings and parked vehicles. A car was damaged by the tail rotor, videos on social media showed.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the AW119 (Reg. VT-RNK) helicopter, piloted by Capt R P S Sodhi, experienced a hard landing. Initial reports suggest the pilot suspected an issue with the collective control getting stuck, prompting a controlled force landing just below the helipad. The helicopter had taken off at 12.52 pm.

Kedarnath heli service nodal officer Rahul Chaubey confirmed that the incident did not affect shuttle services to the Himalayan shrine. Authorities are working to remove the aircraft from the road, and police have urged pilgrims to stay put as the highway remains blocked.

This is the fourth close-call incident involving helicopters on the Char Dham Yatra route in the past month. On May 8, a private helicopter crashed en route to Gangotri, killing six people. On May 12, another helicopter returning from Badrinath made an emergency landing due to poor visibility, and on May 17, a medical helicopter from AIIMS Rishikesh crash-landed near the Kedarnath helipad after sustaining damage to its rear section. In both cases, all passengers survived.