A forced landing of an Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ALH Dhruv Mark 3 helicopter occurred on Sunday in Kochi while the force’s pilots were testing the chopper.
Following the incident, the Cochin International Airport authority announced that airport operations had been temporarily halted. “The incident occurred as the helicopter was taking off for a training mission. There were no reported casualties “, officials stated.
According to airport officials, the ALH was removed from the operational area around 2 p.m., and the runway has been cleared significantly following a safety inspection. Flight operations are expected to resume shortly.
The incident occurred around 12.20 p.m., according to officials.
“Because a Coast Guard ALH helicopter was involved in an accident while taking off from CIAL at 12:25 p.m. today, airport operations had to be temporarily suspended for two hours,” officials said.
According to ICG officials, the chopper was about 25 feet in the air when it had to make a forced landing.
The fleet of ALH Dhruv choppers has been grounded since March 8 due to an accident involving a Navy chopper off the coast of Mumbai.