IAF’s Apache chopper makes emergency landing in Punjab; no injuries reported; second such incident since 2019 induction

CHANDIGARH: One of the Apache helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) narrowly escaped on Friday after it developed a technical snag and landed in a field in open fields of a village in the Pathankot district of Punjab.

It was the second emergency landing of a US-made Apache helicopter in Punjab since its formal induction by the IAF in September 2019 at one of its forward bases in Pathankot.According to initial information, the chopper took off from the Pathankot airbase. No loss of life or injuries were reported. The area falls within the Nangal Bhur police station in the Pathankot district of Punjab. The security personnel have cordoned off the area. Codenamed AH-64E, the Apache has a spectrum of capabilities required for any mission requirement.The first batch of Apache helicopters was formally inducted into the IAF's inventory at the Pathankot airbase in September 2019 and is part of the 125-Helicopter Squadron, popularly known as the “Gladiators” of the IAF. This advanced flying machine has been deployed at the Pathankot airbase, which faced a terrorist attack in January 2016. It is one of the strategically most important forward air bases of the IAF during war and for peacetime surveillance.The official confirmation of the incident is yet to be made by the IAF.