On Wednesday, General Bipin Rawat who was India’s First chief of defense staff general, and Twelve others including his wife Madhulika Raje Singh Rawat was killed When an Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper Mi-17v5 crashed near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu in an air catastrophe and this chopper crash shocked all three services and whole India.
After independence, this tragedy can be considered as the most major setback to the country’s military reforms. Group captain Varun Singh is the only member who survived this catastrophe and now he is under medical treatment at a military Hospital in wellington.
General Bipin Rawat had survived a chopper crash that happened six years back in February 2015in Nagaland.
Around 18:03 Indian Air Force informed through a tweet ” With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs. Madhulika Rawat, and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident.”
Pm Narendra Modi also tweeted “Gen Bipin Rawat was an outstanding soldier. A true patriot, he greatly contributed to modernizing our armed forces and security apparatus. His insights and perspectives on strategic matters were exceptional. His passing away has saddened me deeply. Om Shanti “. He also added that India will never forget its exceptional services.
How did this Chopper Crash happened?
At 9:00 Am CDS General Bipin Rawat, his wife, and seven-person take off through Embraer jet from Delhi.
11:00 Am The plane arrived at Sulur air force station
11:45 Am IAF’s Mi-17V5 helicopter takes off with General and thirteen others for defense service staff college in wellington.
At 12:20 Pm The helicopter crashed near Coonoor
6:30 Pm IAF confirms 13, including general Bipin Rawat, were killed.
The crash
General Rawat was on the way to address the faculty and student offices in Defence Service Staff College Wellington. The chopper crashes near Connor that is 10Km away from the place where they were meant to land, locals of the Coonor find it engulfed in flames.
If the helicopter’s cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder are undamaged then we will get to know that what has been happened in the last moment before the crash and will get a clue that how does it happen?
The Mi-17V5 is a good flight and has major safety records and a reliable helicopter, it can carry a load of around four tonnes as a cargo role. And can fly at very low altitudes and insert troops behind the enemy lines.
Persons on chopper:
The dead include CDS staff officer Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh, General Rawat’s Defence assistant Brigadier LS Lidder. There was a total of fourteen people on the board Mi-17V5. Mi-17V5 is a current and dependable military helicopter that was flown by wing commander PS Chauhan and his co-pilot was Squadron Leader K Singh. There were two junior warrant officers Rana Pratap Das and Pradeep A.
| S.NO | ONBOARD |
| 1. | General Bipin Rawat |
| 2. | Madhulika Rawat |
| 3. | Brig LS Lidder |
| 4. | Lt Col H Singh |
| 5. | Wg Cdr PS Chauhan |
| 6. | Squadron Leader k Singh |
| 7. | JWO Das |
| 8. | JWO Pradeep A |
| 9. | Hav Satpal |
| 10. | NK Gursewak Singh |
| 11. | NK Jitender |
| 12. | L/NK Vivek |
| 13. | L/NK S Teja |
| 14. | G Capt Varun Singh(Only survivor) |
More About the General in Chopper Crash:
General Bipin Rawat was the soldier who created history. He was designated on 16 December 1978 on the fifth Battalion of the Eleventh Gorkha Rifles. He was an Alumni of St. Edward’s school which is situated in Shimla and then the National Defence Academy(NDA).
While graduating from IMA General Rawat was awarded the coveted ‘Sword Of Honour’. In a spanning career of over 42 years, General Rawat holds several Important positions in the Army.
General Rawat had served as the 27th Chief of Army staff from 31 December 2016 to 31 December 2019. He was appointed as India’s first Chief of Defence Staff on 31 December 2019 by the government of India.
General was conferred with several gallantry awards. These awards include the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati vishist Seva medal, param vishist Seva Medal, Yudh Seva Medal, Sena Medal, and Vishist Seva Medal.
General Bipin Rawat will always live in our hearts, and we will never forget what he did for our country. And we also feel saddened about the death of all other board persons who died in the crash. And feel that we had lost our gems. They will live in our hearts.
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