The 2009 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash occurred on July 3, 2009, in the

Federally Administered Tribal Areas , conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas , nation = Pakistan , subdivision = Autonomous territory , image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg , image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. A Russian-manufactured

Mil Mi-17 The Mil Mi-17 ( NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russian servic ...

transport helicopter of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

crashed in

Orakzai Agency Orakzai District ( ps, اورکزو ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Kohat Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Until 2018, it was an agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas. With the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakh ...

. 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, from

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

, 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 The Frontier Corps ( ur, , reporting name: FC), are a group of paramilitary forces of Pakistan, operating in the provinces of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to maintain law and order while overseeing the country's ...

, 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 Leave may refer to: * Permission (disambiguation) ** Permitted absence from work *** Leave of absence, a period of time that one is to be away from one's primary job while maintaining the status of employee *** Annual leave, allowance of time away ...

. The helicopter was flying from

Parachinar Parachinar ( ps, پاړه چنار; ur, ) is a small Pashtun ( Turi and Bangash tribe) town which is the capital of Kurram District in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Parachinar is situated on a neck of Pakistani territory west ...

, the headquarters of

Kurram Agency Kurram District ( ps, کرم ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Kohat Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan.The name Kurram comes from the river Kuramá ( ps, کورمه) in Pashto which itself derives from the Sanskrit name Kr ...

, 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 The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) ( ur, ), is the media and PR wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It broadcasts and coordinates military news and information to the country's civilian media and the civic society. The ISPR directo ...

report. There was an ongoing operation in the area against militants linked to

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

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 General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (Urdu: ; born 20 April 1952), is a retired four-star general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 8th Chief of Army Staff , being appointed on 29 November 2007 after his predecessor Pervez Musharraf retired from ...

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 This is a list of firearm cartridge (weaponry), cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range. *''Length'' refers to the cartridge casing (ammunition), case length. *''OAL'' refers to the overall length of the cartridge. *''Bullet'' ref ...

machine-guns capable of hitting a low flying aircraft. An official said that it would take some time before the actual cause could be determined. According to sources, the pilot had requested an

emergency landing An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...

. 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,

Taliban claims

Taliban from nearby

Darra Adam Khel Darra Adam Khel ( ps, درہ آدم خیل) is the main town of Kohat Subdivision (formerly known as "Frontier Region Kohat") in the Kohat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It has gained fame and notoriety for its bazaars packed with gun ...

claimed responsibility for the crash. A spokesman for the Taliban identifying himself as Muhammad called the

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 Crash Aviation accidents and incidents in 2009 Accidents and incidents involving military aircraft 2009 in Pakistan Aviation accidents and incidents in Pakistan Pakistan Army Aviation Corps Accidents and incidents involving helicopters July 2009 events in Pakistan

Investigations

Taliban claims

See also

References