A Chetak helicopter of the Southern Naval Command was forced to make ‘precautionary landing’ in an open field at Muhamma near Alappuzha on Saturday after the pilots spotted a warning signal suggesting low oil pressure.
Lieutenants Balwinder and Kiran, who piloted the helicopter, are safe. A technical team has been dispatched to Muhamma to assess the condition of the aircraft, a naval spokesperson said.
The helicopter with tail number IN413 had taken off from the naval air station Garuda for a routine sortie.
Almost 1.15 hours into the flight, the pilots observed a warning signal suggesting low oil pressure, which forced them to search for an open field to make the landing. The landing, near the Ponnad post office area, was safe and uneventful, the spokesperson added.
The technical team would examine the ways safely bring the helicopter back to INS Garuda, located at the Naval Base in Kochi, he added.
