india

Updated: Aug 24, 2019 11:52 IST

An Indian Air Force (IAF) probe has found five officers blameworthy for shooting down a Mi-17 V5 helicopter near Srinagar on February 27, the day Islamabad launched its jets to target Indian installations in Jammu and Kashmir in response to an Indian airstrike on a terror camp in Pakistan’s Balakot, two officers familiar with the development said on Friday.

A surface-to-air missile brought down the Russian-origin utility helicopter and left six IAF personnel on-board and a civilian on ground dead, raising questions about whether ground crew, including air traffic controllers, had followed standard operating procedures (SOPs). The Mi-17 is the mainstay of the IAF’s utility fleet.

The IAF was on its highest alert levels the day when the helicopter was brought down. It expected Pakistan to respond to the unprecedented peace-time cross-border airstrike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Balakot on February 26.

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The attack in Balakot was carried out after Pakistan-based JeM claimed responsibility for the February 14 car bomb attack on a paramilitary convoy that left 40 paramilitary troopers dead in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama.

“Even when you are on your highest alert levels, certain SOPs have to be followed before launching a missile. Five officers have been found guilty of violating these SOPs. Had procedures been followed, we would not have lost the chopper,” said one of the officials cited above.

The five officers include the chief operating officer (a group captain) of the Srinagar airbase.

The second officer said no leniency would be shown while awarding punishment to those responsible for the friendly fire incident. A general court-martial trial would follow.

“Fratricide is rare but when it happens, it calls for a thorough investigation and a re-look at procedures to avoid a repeat,” said Centre for Air Power Studies additional director general Air Vice Marshal (retired) Manmohan Bahadur.

Just around the time chopper was shot down, Indian and Pakistani fighter jets were locked in an aerial battle over the Rajouri sector along the the Line of Control (LoC).

The intruding Pakistani warplanes made failed attempts to target a brigade and battalion headquarters as well as a logistics base and forward defences along the LoC.

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, 35, scripted military aviation history by downing an F-16 during that aerial battle, seconds before a missile hit his MiG-21 Bison and forced him to eject in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Both air forces lost one fighter each in the engagement while Varthaman returned after spending two days in Pakistani captivity.