Diplomats speak of Naltar helicopter crash terror
Pakistan’s Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman on Saturday said the helicopter which crashed in Naltar Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan had lost control due to mechanical fault moments before landing.
The air chief told the state TV channel that the helicopter’s behaviour was normal just prior to landing and it suddenly lost control. “Our base commander had eye contact with the helicopter and there was no problem in its behaviour. The helicopter lost control just moments before landing.”
Aman said an investigation had started and there would be a detailed analysis of the crash. He added that unfortunate accidents like this did take place as he praised the solidarity shown by the international community in the wake of this tragedy.
Air Chief Marshall Aman said that the pilots flying the helicopter were ‘proficient and excellent’ and had made several flights in this area.
“The pilots could have saved their lives but they sacrificed themselves in order to save our foreign guests,” he said.
Meanwhile, three ambassadors to Pakistan who survived the helicopter crash described the terrifying moment the aircraft span out of control before slamming into the ground and catching fire.
Testimonies of diplomats on board from Malaysia, Argentina and the Netherlands released by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Saturday also unequivocally bolstered government and eyewitness statements that the disaster was an accident rather than an act of terrorism.
Malaysia’s envoy — who was himself injured in the crash — described how the journey had gone to plan until they were due to land at their destination in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.
“After arriving at Gilgit airport everything went well except for the last few minutes, when the helicopter went into a spiral, round and round and round, and there it hit the ground,” Hasrul Sani Mujtabar said.
“I saw the pilot was killed, some others died instantly and I was in middle. Then a few managed to escape but the fire was very strong,” with smoke quickly filling the helicopter, he said.
The helicopter was one of three carrying a delegation of ambassadors to inspect projects on a three-day trip to the region, where they were set to meet with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The Pakistani Taliban had claimed to have struck the aircraft with a ground-to-air missile hoping to assassinate Sharif.
“(Regarding) remarks and rumours that there was a terrorist attack or that there was sabotage, I can say 99.9 per cent that they were not true, that this was a sad accident, a really unfortunate accident, by a technical fault on the plane,” Argentinean Ambassador Rodolfo Martin Saravia told the air force.
Leif H. Larsen, the Norwegian envoy, and Domingo D. Lucenario Jr of the Philippines were killed along with the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors, the helicopter’s two pilots and another crew member.
Dutch Ambassador Marcel de Vink said he felt “extremely lucky” to be alive after what he had witnessed. He was described as having sustained burns to the leg and face by the Foreign Ministry.
“I remember that we got into a spin and so thinking I suppose I braced a little bit for impact… afterwards I was actually opening my eyes seeing the smoke and explosions, so I was extremely lucky because it went incredibly fast,” he said.
It was Pakistan’s worst air crash since 2012, when a Boeing 737 passenger plane went down in Islamabad, killing 130 people.
In 1988, a plane crash killed Pakistan’s then military-ruler General Zia-ul-Haq as well as the US ambassador at the time, Arnold Raphel.
The Russian-built Mi-17, used by air forces across the world, has had a patchy safety record in recent years.
Known for its spectacular mountain ranges, Gilgit-Baltistan is a strategically important autonomous region that borders China, Afghanistan and Indian-held Kashmir.
