Two Chetak helicopters made precautionary landing in Vizianagaram district on Monday in separate incidents.
An Indian Navy Chetak from the INS Dega here on a routine sortie was forced to make a landing in the fields at Ramachandrapuram village near Kottavalasa and an Indian Air Force Chetak helicopter from Chilika in Odisha to Visakhapatnam made a landing at Nagur village, 120 km from away from here, owing to inclement weather.
The Navy helicopter which took from INS Dega on a routine sortie, with three crew members on board, made a precautionary landing after the pilot received an engine warning alarm at around 1.30 p.m. The crew and aircraft are safe, said a Ministry of Defence release. A technical team was sent from the Naval Air Station to the site to provide the necessary assistance. The helicopter returned to INS Dega safely in the evening.
The Air Force helicopter belonging to Air Force Station Hakimpet, Hyderabad, took off from Chilika, with two pilots and one ground crew, at 2.45 p.m. and was expected to reach INS Dega at 4.30 p.m. However, the aircraft ran into inclement weather and was forced to land at Nagur. The aircraft and the crew are safe.
The police have secured the helicopter and the crew is making a night halt there. They are planning to resume the flight schedule, once the sky gets clear on Tuesday.