Helicopter Crashes On Maruti Suzuki Dzire During Failed Takeoff In Kedarnath: Live Footage

Every year, lakhs of pilgrims visit the holy temple of Kedarnath in Uttarakhand. Now, to reach the temple, people can either take the long and dangerous roads or they can use a helicopter to cut down the distance and time. Unfortunately, in the last 30 days, there have been four major helicopter-related incidents in Kedarnath. Most recently, a video has gone viral on the internet, which shows a private helicopter taking off and then immediately crashing on a road over a Maruti Suzuki Dzire taxi.

This video of the helicopter incident has been shared on X by Capt CK on their page. What happened is that a white and blue-colored private helicopter was on a helipad over a road. It was first turning at the spot on which it was stationed, and then it started taking off. Unfortunately, soon after taking off, the helicopter could not generate enough propulsion and instead landed on the road.

Another video of the same helicopter after crashing on the road has been shared. In this clip, we can note that this particular helicopter’s tail was on top of a Maruti Suzuki Dzire taxi. What we can also observe is that there was a person who was crawling out of the lower portion of the helicopter. Now, whether this person was an occupant of the helicopter or came under during the crash is unknown. It can be noted that there was another person inside the helicopter.

Details of this helicopter crash

As per the reports, the particular helicopter — VT-RNK — is owned by Kestrel Aviation. This particular incident took place on the Saturday after the helicopter took off from the Sirsi helipad located in the Badsai area of Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. This particular helipad is common for ferrying pilgrims to the Kedarnath temple.

In total, there were five pilgrims inside the helicopter at the time of the crash. Thankfully, none of the pilgrims were injured. Only the pilot suffered some injury, as it was reported that he had a back pain complaint, for which he was immediately taken to the hospital for evaluation. Apart from these, no other casualties or injuries to any person who was on the road have been reported.

As for the damage to the helicopter, it can be noted that the tail of the helicopter broke during the emergency landing on the road. Most likely, there are other damages on the helicopter as well, which will be noted after a thorough inspection takes place. Apart from the helicopter, the Maruti Suzuki Dzire on which the helicopter crashed has been destroyed as well. Thankfully, there was no one inside the vehicle at the time.

Commenting on the incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation stated, “As per initial inputs, shortly after takeoff from the helipad, the pilot reported a suspected issue with the collective control getting stuck. In response, he executed a controlled force landing on the road near the helipad. All passengers are safe and unharmed. The pilot has been taken to the hospital for evaluation due to complaints of back pain.”

A representative from the state government added, “The CEO of UCADA has informed that a helicopter made a precautionary landing on the road, instead of the helipad, while taking off with passengers from Sirsi. There are no reports of any casualties. The DGCA has been notified, and the rest of the shuttle operations are proceeding as scheduled.”