An Indian Air Force's (IAF) Cheetah helicopter made an emergency landing on Eastern Peripheral Expressway in Haryana after it developed a technical snag on Friday, June 26.
The bubble-shaped, French-origin Cheetah helicopter carrying four people approached the new KMP Expressway in Haryana's Sonepat at a slow rate of descent.
Issuing a statement, the Defence Wing of the Press Information Bureau said, "Cheetah helicopter was proceeding from Hindan to Halwara for a routine Air Force task. Helicopter developed a technical snag and carried out precautionary landing on Eastern Peripheral Expressway. The actions taken by the pilots were prompt and correct. No damage."
Take a look at the video here:
The video of the recovery helicopter landing at Eastern Peripheral Expressway this afternoon to rescue the Cheetah helicopter which made emergency landing. https://t.co/EBFzmXNcEL pic.twitter.com/XT8MRK2KzE
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) June 26, 2020
In the video, the chopper is seen guided by a man, who stood on the side of the highway, to land on the middle of the wide road.
The police said all the four personnel are safe.
IAF personnel soon arrived at the landing site and the repairs took about an hour, officials said.
The helicopter successfully lifted off after the repairs were done. A section of the expressway was barricaded for some time during the landing.
Expressways across the country have been built with the ability to withstand landing of small aircraft such as fighter jets during emergencies and for tactical reasons during wartime. The Yamuna Expressway, for example, has seen multiple landings by fighter jets.
(With agency inputs)
