Air Chief: Shooting down Mi-17 was a ‘big mistake’

New Delhi: Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on Friday officially admitted for the first time that an Indian Air Force missile had shot down its own Mi-17 helicopter in Kashmir on February 27, calling it a “big mistake”.

The incident had resulted in the death of seven people, including six IAF personnel on board the chopper and a civilian on the ground.

Earlier media reports that IAF’s air defence missile had shot down Mi-17 helicopter in  

Budgam in the Kashmir Valley minutes after Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft had entered Indian air space on February 27 were mostly based on sources.

“The helicopter was hit by our own missile. This has been established. This was a mistake, a big mistake. We admit that,” Chief of Air Staff Bhadauria said.

The helicopter was hit by the missile when it was approaching the airbase and was in contact with air traffic control (ATC).

Air Chief Bhadauria added that the court of inquiry on the incident has just recently been completed.

He said that IAF has taken administrative action against two officers and disciplinary action will also be taken in the future as per process. Air Chief Bhadauria said that those who were killed on the chopper will be treated as battle casualty and awards will be given to the family of those killed.

“Necessary steps have been taken that these things are not repeated,” he said.

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had entered the Indian air space near Nowshera to bomb militarily installations in retaliation to airstrikes carried out by IAF at terror camps in Balakot.  

According to sources, the investigation report said that the “Identification of Friend or Foe” (IFF) system on-board the helicopter was switched off and there was a “vital gap” in communication and co-ordination between the ground staff and the crew of the chopper. Despite being in touch with the ATC, the helicopter was hit by missiles as the weapon operators thought it was an unmanned aircraft.

The IFF helps air defence radar identify whether an aircraft or helicopter is friendly or hostile. The Mi-17 V-5 chopper had crashed within 10 minutes of taking off, as Pakistan Air Force and IAF aircraft were involved in a dogfight.

Speaking about the Mirage 2000 crash in Bengaluru in February, in which two test pilots were killed, the Air Chief said that the court of inquiry is yet to be completed. “It is a priority. We are in full grip of the issue. Something failed and there was an un-commanded movement. We are waiting for some inputs from OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer),” he added.