HAL Dhruv’s Army Variant “Rudra” Makes Emergency Landing In India

Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv’s army variant Dhruv Mk IV “Rudra” made an emergency landing on Tuesday after taking off from HAL Airport in Bengaluru located in Southern India.

The helicopter landed in a potato field in the outskirts of the city around 1.15pm in the afternoon, Deccan Herald reported.

“Two trainee pilots noticed technical fault in the helicopter soon after it had taken off from the HAL Airport and informed the local authorities before grounding it. The aircraft had to make the landing as it had developed a technical snag,” PTI reported.

The pilots are safe and there are no damages to the chopper.

The HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) Dhruv is a twin-engine, multi-role, multi-new generation helicopter in the 5.5-tonne weight class. It is touted to have a cruise speed of 265km/hr and a range of 700km with the ability to carry 14 passengers.

HAL Dhurv has been developed into a Light Combat Helicopter and an army variant, "Rudra." The HAL Rudra helicopter can be deployed in wide range of missions, including reconnaissance, troop transport, anti-tank warfare and close air support as a gunship.

This incident occurs close on the heels of another accident that occurred on February 1 where a HAL-upgraded French aircraft, Dassault Mirage 2000 crashed, killing two pilots. The aircraft was undergoing its second acceptance sortie.

Less than a week before the Mirage aircraft crash, on January 28, a Jaguar fighter jet belonging to the IAF crashed in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The pilot escaped unhurt in the incident as he ejected safely.