A Bell 407 helicopter crashed into the Ladpur jungles close to here this afternoon, soon after takeoff, with the kin of BJP national head, Nitin Gadkari, on board. The pilot and an engineer were seriously injured.
The chopper was flying to the Sahastradhara helipad after having brought the Gadkari family to Jolly Grant airport here from the Badrinath shrine in the Garhwal Himalayas. The private helicopter was being operated by SAR Aviation on the Chardham yatra circuit.
The Gadkari kin had hired three copters for the Chardham yatra, after being criticised by Congress party members for being allegedly flown in the official helicopter of CM Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank during the past few days.
Soon after the takeoff from Jolly Grant, the chopper piloted by Navin Vid crashed. The other two landed safely at Sahastradhara, the government’s principal secretary, civil aviation, P C Sharma, told Business Standard. He said the crash seemed to be due to a technical snag, as the weather was clear in the entire Doon valley.
Witnesses said the chopper crashed into pieces and its tail got entangled on the top of a tree. “A major tragedy was averted, as the Vigyan Vihar residential area is only 10 feet away from the jungles where thecrash occurred. We believe the pilot must have avoided this colony,” district police head G S Martolia said. Vid and the engineer, Navneel Kumar, were taken to a private hospital.