2009 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash

2009 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash
Occurrence
A Pakistan Army Mi-17 helicopter, similar to the crashed aircraft
Date	July 3, 2009
Summary
Site	Khyber Pass, Pakistan 34°05′35″N 71°08′45″E / 34.09306°N 71.14583°E / 34.09306; 71.14583
Aircraft
Aircraft type	MI-17
Operator	Pakistan Army
Flight origin	Parachinar
Destination	Peshawar
Passengers	37
Crew	4
Fatalities	41
Survivors	0

The 2009 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash occurred on July 3, 2009, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. A Russian-manufactured Mil Mi-17 transport helicopter of the Pakistan Army crashed in Orakzai Agency. According to a source within the Army the crash was due to a technical fault. Some sources reported local people attributing the crash to militant activity. The crash site was Chapar Feroze Khel, 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Peshawar, on the border of the semi-autonomous Orakzai and Khyber tribal agencies. The area is remote and also full of militants, which hampered the rescue efforts.

Official accounts stated 26 soldiers were killed in the incident, but other sources put the toll at 41 people on board, all of them being killed, including 19 from the paramilitary Frontier Corps, 18 army personnel and 4 crew members. The Mi-17 is normally limited to carrying 32 passengers. Most of the personnel on board were due to go on leave.

The helicopter was flying from Parachinar, the headquarters of Kurram Agency, to Peshawar. Previously there were unconfirmed reports that the helicopter might have been hit by ground fire from militants, with four casualties reported, but these were contradicted by an Inter Services Public Relations report. There was an ongoing operation in the area against militants linked to Al-Qaeda at the time of the crash. Militants have claimed they shot down the aircraft and that the Taliban captured the pilot; if true this was the first such incident.

Investigations

Chief of the army General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani ordered an inquiry, but the crash prompted speculation whether the transport helicopter attracted militant gunfire and was shot down. This speculation is based on the fact that the area is a militant stronghold, and the militants had 12.7mm machine-guns capable of hitting a low flying aircraft.

Combat and transport helicopters usually fly high to avoid fire from the ground.

An official said that it would take some time before the actual cause could be determined.

It is a lengthy exercise

According to sources, the pilot had requested an emergency landing. They also blamed it on overloading of the aircraft. Witness accounts say that it was flying at low altitude in the mountains.

Weather was also not good in the area. According to one official,

The weather was bad and the copter was flying low. It could either be because of the bad weather or excess weight. But nothing can be said with certainty until we retrieve the wreckage

Taliban claims

Taliban from nearby Darra Adam Khel claimed responsibility for the crash. A spokesman for the Taliban identifying himself as Muhammad called the Agence France-Presse news agency and said:

We shot down the helicopter. It was in retaliation for the Pakistani military operation in South Waziristan

This was rejected by a military spokesman, who again blamed it on a "'technical fault". He further said that:

Taliban militants frequently make false claims

References

^ "Helicopter crash kills 41 security personnel". Dawn (newspaper). 2009-07-04. Archived from the original on 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
^ "Helicopter crash kills 26 soldiers in Orakzai". The Nation. 2009-07-03. Archived from the original on 2009-07-08. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
"Technical fault caused chopper's crash: ISPR". Geo.tv. 2009-07-03. Archived from the original on 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
"At least 26 soldiers killed in Orakzai helicopter crash: officials". Dawn (newspaper). 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
"Helicopter crashes in Orakzai: military". AAj.tv. 2009-07-03. Archived from the original on 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
"Helicopter crash kills 26 in NW Pakistan". AFP. 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
Mehmood, Hasan (2009-07-04). "26 perish in Army helicopter crash". Nation (newspaper). Archived from the original on 2009-07-08. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
"26 dead as Pak Army helicopter crashes in Orakzai". Dawn (newspaper). 2009-07-03. Archived from the original on 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
^ "Taliban claim to down Pakistan military helicopter". AFP. 2009-07-04. Archived from the original on December 30, 2010. Retrieved 2009-07-04.

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Pakistan
1940s– 1970s	Korangi Creek Douglas DC-3 crash (December 1947) Pakistan International Airlines Flight 17 (February 1966)*()** Indian Airlines hijacking (January 1971) Pakistan International Airlines Flight 631 (December 1972)
1980s	Pakistan International Airlines Flight 326 (March 1981) Indian Airlines Flight 405 (July 1984) Indian Airlines Flight 421 (August 1984) Pan Am Flight 73 (September 1986) Death of President Zia (August 1988) Pakistan International Airlines Flight 404 (August 1989)
1990s	Pakistan International Airlines Flight 544 (May 1998) Pakistan Navy Breguet 1150 Atlantic shootdown (August 1999)
2000s	Pakistan International Airlines Flight 688 (July 2006) Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash (July 2009)
2010s	Airblue Flight 202 (July 2010) JS Air Flight 201 (November 2010) Sun Way Flight 4412 (November 2010) Bhoja Air Flight 213 (April 2012) Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash (May 2015) Pakistan International Airlines Flight 661 (December 2016) 2019 Pakistan Army military plane crash (July 2019)
2020s	Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 (May 2020) Mari Petroleum Mil Mi-8 crash (September 2024)
*()** in East Pakistan, now the independent country of Bangladesh

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 2009 (2009)
Jan 15 Makhachkala Ilyushin Il-76 collisionJan 15 US Airways Flight 1549Jan 17 French Air Force Eurocopter AS 532Jan 27 Empire Airlines Flight 8284Feb 7 Manaus Aerotáxi Embraer EMB 110Feb 12 Colgan Air Flight 3407Feb 25 Turkish Airlines Flight 1951Mar 12 Cougar Helicopters Flight 91Mar 20 Emirates Flight 407Mar 23 FedEx Express Flight 80Mar 25 Medair Bell 206Apr 1 Bond Offshore Helicopters Flight 85NApr 6 Indonesian Air Force Fokker F27Apr 9 Aviastar BAe 146Apr 17 Mimika Air Flight 514Apr 19 CanJet Flight 918May 3 Venezuelan Army Mil Mi-17May 20 Indonesian Air Force Lockheed L-100Jun 1 Air France Flight 447Jun 30 Yemenia Flight 626Jul 3 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17Jul 13 Southwest Airlines Flight 2294Jul 15 Caspian Airlines Flight 7908Jul 24 Aria Air Flight 1525Aug 2 Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 9760DAug 4 Bangkok Airways Flight 266Aug 8 Hudson River mid-air collisionAug 11 Airlines PNG Flight 4684Sep 2 Andhra Pradesh Government Bell 430Sep 9 Aeroméxico Flight 576Sep 22 Iranian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76Sep 24 SA Airlink Flight 8911Oct 21 Sudan Airways Flight 2241Oct 21 Northwest Airlines Flight 188Oct 22 Divi Divi Air Flight 014Oct 29 California mid-air collisionNov 1 Yakutia Ilyushin Il-76Nov 12 RwandAir Flight 205Nov 18 Pel-Air IAI Westwind IINov 28 Avient Aviation Flight 324Dec 22 American Airlines Flight 331Dec 25 Northwest Airlines Flight 253
2008 ◄ ► 2010

Aviation accidents and incidents in 2009 (2009)

Jan 15 Makhachkala Ilyushin Il-76 collisionJan 15 US Airways Flight 1549Jan 17 French Air Force Eurocopter AS 532Jan 27 Empire Airlines Flight 8284Feb 7 Manaus Aerotáxi Embraer EMB 110Feb 12 Colgan Air Flight 3407Feb 25 Turkish Airlines Flight 1951Mar 12 Cougar Helicopters Flight 91Mar 20 Emirates Flight 407Mar 23 FedEx Express Flight 80Mar 25 Medair Bell 206Apr 1 Bond Offshore Helicopters Flight 85NApr 6 Indonesian Air Force Fokker F27Apr 9 Aviastar BAe 146Apr 17 Mimika Air Flight 514Apr 19 CanJet Flight 918May 3 Venezuelan Army Mil Mi-17May 20 Indonesian Air Force Lockheed L-100Jun 1 Air France Flight 447Jun 30 Yemenia Flight 626Jul 3 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17Jul 13 Southwest Airlines Flight 2294Jul 15 Caspian Airlines Flight 7908Jul 24 Aria Air Flight 1525Aug 2 Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 9760DAug 4 Bangkok Airways Flight 266Aug 8 Hudson River mid-air collisionAug 11 Airlines PNG Flight 4684Sep 2 Andhra Pradesh Government Bell 430Sep 9 Aeroméxico Flight 576Sep 22 Iranian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76Sep 24 SA Airlink Flight 8911Oct 21 Sudan Airways Flight 2241Oct 21 Northwest Airlines Flight 188Oct 22 Divi Divi Air Flight 014Oct 29 California mid-air collisionNov 1 Yakutia Ilyushin Il-76Nov 12 RwandAir Flight 205Nov 18 Pel-Air IAI Westwind IINov 28 Avient Aviation Flight 324Dec 22 American Airlines Flight 331Dec 25 Northwest Airlines Flight 253

2008 ◄ ► 2010

Categories:

Misplaced Pages