NEW DELHI: A private helicopter flying from Mumbai to Hyderabad crashed near Paud village in Pune district on Saturday. The helicopter, owned by Global Vectra, had four people on board. "Among the 4 people who were in the helicopter, the captain sustained injuries and is hospitalised.
The rest of the three persons are in stable condition," said SP (Pune Rural) Pankaj Deshmukh. A DGCA investigation into the incident will take place, after which the cause of the incident can be determined. The helicopter involved in the incident is an AugustaWestland AW139, a twin-engine aircraft with a seating capacity of 8 to 12 passengers, according to sources.
Ishwarchandra Gulgule, the managing director of Kaigu Aviation Private Limited, said that possible reasons could be weather related. “It looks like a forced landing but it may be an emergency landing due to bad weather. All aircrafts including choppers are thoroughly checked by the pilots and engineers before take-off,” he said.
This incident follows another helicopter crash that occurred on May 3 this year, involving a Bell 407 chopper that crashed while attempting to land in Mahad, located in the Raigad district..