A military court has stayed proceedings against army officers in connection with the Mi-17 helicopter crash in Srinagar. The accident took place in Budgam just one day after the Balakot air strike last year. Disciplinary action was to be taken against two officers in the accident. Six Indian Air Force personnel, including a helicopter pilot, were killed in the crash.
Regarding the accident, Chief of the Indian Air Force RKS Bhadoria had admitted that the accident was his fault. Bhadoria had said that action would be taken against two officers in the matter. The helicopter was being flown by Squadron Leader Sudhar. He was accompanied by Squadron Leader Nanad, Kumar Pandey, Sergeant Vikrant Sehrawat, Corporal Deepak Pandey and Pankaj Kumar.
The helicopter also took off from Srinagar Airport on February 27, 2019 at 10:10 AM. About 40 minutes earlier, a Pakistan Air Force jet had violated Indian airspace and tried to infiltrate Budgam. However, the Indian Air Force took immediate action and destroyed it.
Now the two officers responsible for the accident, Group Captain SR Chaudhry and Wing Commander Shyam Nethani, had challenged the Court of Inquiry. The military court, after hearing the officers' position, stayed any action until the next hearing. The next hearing in the case is set for September 30. It may be recalled that Group Captain SR Chaudhary was the Chief Operations Officer of Srinagar Airbase at the time of the accident. Wing Commander Nathani was posted as Senior Air Traffic Controller.
