Panic gripped residents of Malla Nallasandra nera Bannerghatta on the outskirts of the city for a while on Sunday evening when an MI 8 helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) had to make an emergency landing on a field after it developed a technical snag. Six crew members, including the pilot, are safe.
The helicopter, which took off from the Air Force Station Yelahanka, was headed to Air Force Station Sulur in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Around 4.30 p.m., the helicopter was hovering close to the rooftops of houses near Koppa Gate in Bannerghatta police station limits.
The pilot then set the helicopter down in a field around 4.45 p.m. As curious onlookers began to gather, the Bannerghatta police rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area while the crew began an examination of the helicopter to discover the fault. They were joined in a short while by a team from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. who helped rectify the snag. The helicopter was then flown to HAL Airport.
According to sources, a complete examination of the helicopter will be carried out before it resumes its journey to Sulur.
