Army aviation pilots pull off daring high-altitude helicopter rescue at 18,600ft in Ladakh
NEW DELHI: In an uphill task in the mountain ranges of Himalayas, Indian Army Aviation pilots carried out a “daring high-casualty evacuation” with their helicopter at 18,600 feet near the Nun Kun massif, a mountain group in the Zanskar range in Kargil district of Ladakh, on Saturday.“Indian Army Aviation pilots evacuated a casualty from an extremely challenging slope with no landing space and strong winds,” Fire & Fury Corps of the Army posted on X.The rescue area consisted of an exceptionally steep, snow-covered slope battered by severe winds, leaving absolutely no flat ground for a traditional landing.“The aviators operated at an altitude where the reduced atmospheric density severely impairs engine performance and robs rotor blades of their lift. To carry out the mission, the rescue crew had to take drastic measures to prepare for the ascent. The rescue team stripped the aircraft of all non-essential equipment to lighten the load to the absolute minimum weight required for flight, it said.With zero room for error, the pilots maintained a perilous hover, balancing the helicopter by touching down with only one skid on the slope while keeping the rest of the aircraft airborne.Headquartered in Leh, Fire & Fury Corps was created specifically to guard India’s highly sensitive northern and western borders. The corps is responsible for defending the toughest and most hostile military frontiers in the world, including the Siachen Glacier, Zojila, Kargil, Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), and Demchok. It is the only military formation in the world that regularly deploys and maintains mechanised forces (such as tanks and infantry combat vehicles) at such extreme high-altitude and sub-zero environments.Saturday’s challenging mission, undertaken at the last available landing window of the day, stands as a testament to the skill, courage and compassion of Indian Army Aviation.
