Lagatar24 Desk
Coonoor, Dec.9: The data recorder of the Indian Air Force’s ill-fated M 17 helicopter, which crashed near Coonoor in Ooty, killing Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika, and 11 other military personnel, was discovered on Thursday morning.
The black box was retrieved by a 25-member special team of Air Force officials commanded by Wing Commander R. Bhardwaj, and more information is pending. The squad has been searching since the morning on Wednesday, with the goal of safely transporting the dead to Wellington Army Hospital.
Meanwhile, a six-member special medical team from Coimbatore is assisting with the treatment of Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the Coonoor chopper crash, who is fighting for his life at the Wellington Army hospital.
M.K. Stalin, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, who is currently in the Nilgiris, has already informed the Army delegation that the Tamil Nadu government will finance Group Captain Varun Singh’s medical treatment.
Varun Singh, a Shaurya Chakra awardee, was claimed to have suffered 60% burns following the helicopter crash, according to Wellington sources.
Except for two soldiers, all of the other bodies were burned, according to Ravikumar, who was the first person to arrive at the accident site.
The data from the black box can be used to learn more about the helicopter’s final flight circumstances and other details. Despite its name, the flight data recorder is coloured bright orange and records flight data as well as cockpit discussions.
If the wreckage of the chopper is examined more forensically, it may be possible to determine whether the accident was caused by external factors.
Furthermore, Group Captain Varun Singh, the Director of Staff of the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, Tamil Nadu, and the lone survivor of the ill-fated chopper, can provide firsthand knowledge about the journey.
The IAF helicopter took off from Sulur air base on Wednesday with 14 people on board, including General Rawat and his wife, and crashed minutes before it was meant to land at Coonoor.
