A reminders of the past aircraft accidents that took many high dignitaries life

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his spouse Madhulika Rawat, and 11 other staff died after the Mi17V5 crashed on its way to Wellington from the Sulur Air Force Base in Coimbatore.

General Rawat had earlier survived a helicopter crash in 2015 in the northeastern state of Nagaland. The general held India’s highest military rank — the chief of defense staff (CDS). He was the first to hold the position, which the Indian government established in 2019. General Rawat was scheduled to address the students and faculty of Defence Services Staff College (DSSC). The only survivor is Group Captain Varun Singh, who is being treated for severe burns at the military hospital in Wellington. Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan was the pilot of the aircraft.

The IAF has constituted a probe and no official word is out on what led to the fatal crash. The chopper came down approximately 10 kilometers from the nearest main road, forcing emergency workers to trek to the accident site. Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhary visited the crash site today as investigations began into what caused the crash.

The Indian Air Force said on Wednesday that 13 people, including India’s defense chief General Bipin Rawat, died in a helicopter crash in the south of the country.

“With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs. Madhulika Rawat, and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident,” the Indian Air Force said on Twitter.

General Bipin Rawat’s death stunned the country. “I am shocked and anguished over the untimely demise of Gen. Bipin Rawat and his wife, Madhulika Ji. The nation has lost one of its bravest sons,” President Ram Nath Kovind said in a tweet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “Gen Bipin Rawat was an outstanding soldier. A true patriot, he greatly contributed to modernizing our armed forces and security apparatus. His insights and perspectives on strategic matters were exceptional. His passing away has saddened me deeply. Om Shanti.”

This wasn’t the first time an aircraft went down with high ranked officers on board. There have been many incidents in the past.

1)  Fifty-eight years ago, five senior officers of the Army and Air Force were killed when a helicopter of the Air Force crashed in Gulpur near Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir around noon on November 22, 1963. In 1963, Lt. Gen. Daulat Singh, General Officer Commanding in Chief, Western Command; Air Vice-Marshal E.W. Pinto, Air Officer Commanding, Western Air Command; Lt. General Bikram Singh, Corps Commander, Western Command; Major-General N.K.D. Nanavati and Brigadier Siri Ram Uberoi, were the five officers who were on their way to outposts near Poonch. Flt. Lt. S.S. Sodhi, the pilot of the helicopter, also died in the crash.

2) Eight senior military officials were killed in a Mi-8 chopper crash in Bhutan in May 1993, including then Eastern Army commander Lieutenant General Jameel Mahmood.

3) Another accident involving a high dignitary was the one in the Lungar sector, Tawang district of Arunchal Pradesh, on November 14, 1997 in which the then Union Minister of State for Defence, N.V.N. Somu, and three members of the forces including a Major General died. The wreckage of the helicopter and the bodies of the four victims were found at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters in a snow-bound area.

4) An Indian Air Force MI-17 helicopter crashed at Bomdir near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh in 2010, killing 12 defence personnel on board including an Army official of the rank of lieutenant colonel.

5) The CDS chopper crash is also reminded of the incident that took place in the month of February 1952 Devon crash that almost wiped out the Indian Army’s top brass, including two future chiefs. Lieutenant General SM Shrinagesh and Major General KS Thimayya, both of whom went on to become army chiefs, survived the crash. Each survivor of the Devon crash was presented a salvaged chair from the crash as a souvenir. Flight Lieutenant Suhas Biswas, the pilot, was awarded the country’s highest peacetime gallantry award, Ashoka Chakra, for his heroics and outstanding presence of mind that saved the lives of all the people on board. It was the IAF’s first Ashok Chakra. Biswas died in a Dakota crash in the Nilgiri hills a few years later.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid his homage to Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other armed forces personnel who lost their lives in the military chopper crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday here at the Palam airport today.