Army chopper crash-lands at Dhanmondi cricket ground!

[rafiq]

has to be on a Top Ten list of reasons why a cricket match was abandoned....from today's DS


Army chopper crash-lands at Dhanmondi ground
Star Report

Two pilots survived unscathed when an army helicopter crash-landed during a cricket match at Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium in the capital yesterday morning.

The chopper made an 'emergency landing' at 11:08am, 18 minutes into its take-off from Tejgaon Old Airport, shortly after its engine suddenly stopped.

The tailbone of the helicopter broke into two but the pilots -- instructor Group Captain (retd.) Zafar and trainee Lt Col Manjur -- escaped unhurt.

No-one on the ground was injured either.

The engine of the light army aviation chopper Bel 206 (L4) ceased to operate at an altitude of 1,000 feet, but pilot Zafar managed to keep control of the aircraft, Manjur said.

Zafar looked for an open space to land the chopper that had hardly flown 1,000 hours since it was bought two years ago. He spotted the playground where a First Division cricket match between Surjatarun Club and Jatrabari Krira Sangha was going on.


The players on the ground in sheer disbelief watched the helicopter crash-land, hardly 50 feet away from the umpire and the bowler.

Witnesses said the chopper's tailbone broke when it hit the ground. The two pilots simply walked off the helicopter unscathed. They later said had they not found the playground they would have to make the landing on a rooftop.


Bangladesh Cricket Board's Groundsman Habibur Rahman Habib said he looked up at the sky above the southwestern side of the playground when he heard a loud 'bang'.

He said when the helicopter was descending on the field he thought it was purposely landing there for some reason. When it glided towards the players and umpires with its blades rotating, everyone started running for cover.


"I saw the tailbone of the helicopter hitting the ground first, then within seconds the two pilots emerged from it," said Habib. "But by that time everyone on the ground had run away."

Some 45 minutes after the landing, a rescue team of the Engineering Core of Bangladesh Air Force arrived at the scene.

As the army, police and air force personnel cordoned off the area, engineers towed the craft with a large crane onto a trailer. It took the experts over four hours to do the job and carry the helicopter to the army workshop.


Lt Col Nazrul Islam, director of the Inter-Service Public Relations, said the helicopter was damaged during the emergency landing. "But a proper picture of the damage will be available after assessment by a high-level committee formed to investigate the incident," he added.

[TigerFan]

wow!

[chinaman]

[oracle]

What is the average size of public, i.e "curious" non interfering public that is generated for such incidences. One of the more curious aspects of BD life.

Also how fast can such a crowd be generated per minute hishabe? Calculate.

[Arnab]

It's the same here in the US. A few years ago, a cessna crashed in a nearby baseball field, three blocks from where I lived. Lots of people gathered before the cops arrived. Even curious housewives came down onto the streets and tried to sniff what happened from a mile away. I had to play the role of the messenger.

[Pundit]

Very funny - its TBS.

[fab]

Originally posted by oracle
Also how fast can such a crowd be generated per minute hishabe? Calculate.

Oh please.. Don't tell me you never try to get a good look at a car accident? Apparently it has something to do with our innate curiousity for blood and guts.

Originally posted by Arnab
I had to play the role of the messenger.

Yeah sure you did. It's most likely that your curiousity got the better of you too (just like the housewives)!

[Arnab]

Originally posted by fab

Yeah sure you did. It's most likely that your curiousity got the better of you too (just like the housewives)!

Of course. I met them on my way to the spot. They asked me to come back and report.

[mzia]

“First ever we watch the helicopter accident in live, we saw it in the Hollywood movie before”, said by the spectators who were also expecting a blast immediate after crash landing but disappointed. Prothom Alo.

[Fazal]

Air Force should scrap those 50-60 years old useless good-for-nothing equipments that they received from another counry as donation, like the used cloths in Lunda Bazzar.

[Maruf]

Originally posted by Fazal
Air Force should scrap those 50-60 years old useless good-for-nothing equipments that they received from another counry as donation, like the used cloths in Lunda Bazzar.

This is a Bell-206 training helo. This helo still has enough life in it. Many developed countries including many European countries use this Bell-206 as a training rotary wing aircraft. The other day I came across a news that the most advanced fighter plane in the world, F-22, made a crash landing in some American city.

Accidents do occur. We should not blame the technology for it all the time.

Edited on, December 27, 2004, 4:53 AM GMT, by Maruf.

[shujan]

Those 2 pilots are lucky that they found an open field in Dhaka!? Praise the lord for that.What a flying lesson for the Kid?

[Maruf]

Yes, they were pretty lucky to find an open field in a crowded city like Dhaka. I am happy that in the end no harm was done.