An Indian Air Force's Apache helicopter made an emergency landing in Ladakh and sustained damage due to undulating terrain and high altitude, the IAF said on Thursday. It added that the incident took place on Wednesday and both the pilots on board are safe.

"An IAF Apache helicopter carried out a precautionary landing during an operational training sortie in Ladakh on April 3. During the process of this landing, it sustained damage due to undulating terrain and high altitude," the IAF said in a brief statement.

"Both the pilots on board are safe and have been recovered to the nearest airbase. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause," the IAF said.

IAF Helicopters Conduct Trials On National Highway

The incident took place days after the IAF Chinook, Mi-17 and ALH helicopters landed on a stretch of the national highway linking Kashmir with the rest of the country as part of an Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) drill, the first such exercise in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to officials, two US-manufactured Chinook, one Russian-made Mi-17 and two Advance Light helicopters (ALH) landed on the Wanpoh-Sangam stretch of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in the early hours of Tuesday.

Chinook helicopters, which have a top speed of 310 kmph and a travel range of 741 km, are used for heavy lifting and the main cabin can hold over 33 fully-equipped troops. It can also be used for medical evacuation and has space for 24 stretchers.

The Mi-17 helicopters can accommodate up to 35 troops. Both these helicopters have been pressed into relief and rescue operations during natural disasters.

Emergency Landing Strip In J-K

Work on the 3.5-km emergency landing strip was started in 2020 and completed late last year as part of a programme initiated by the IAF along with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for the creation of ELFs at different locations across the country.

(With Agency Inputs)