2021 Indian Air Force Mil Mi-17 crash
An Indian Mil Mi-17V-5, similar to the one involved | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 8 December 2021 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain, due to weather-related spatial disorientation |
| Site | Nanjappachatiram, Bandishola panchayat, Coonoor taluk, Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, India 11°19′57″N 76°48′28″E / 11.33250°N 76.80778°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Mil Mi-17V-5 |
| Operator | Indian Air Force |
| Registration | ZP 5164 |
| Flight origin | Sulur Air Force Station, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Destination | Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Occupants | 14 |
| Passengers | 10 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 14 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On 8 December 2021, a Mil Mi-17V-5 transport helicopter operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed between Coimbatore and Wellington in the state of Tamil Nadu after departing from Sulur Air Force Station. The helicopter was carrying Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and 13 others, including his wife and staff. Everyone on board was killed in the immediate aftermath, except Group Captain Varun Singh, who died from his injuries at a hospital a week later.