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A private chopper with five persons on board crashed about 60 km north east of Mumbai this morning, killing all its occupants. The Bell 212 chopper belonged to United Helicharters and was carrying three pilots, an engineer and a technician from the same firm and was headed to Nagpur for an onshore project.
The chopper took off from Juhu airport in Mumbai at around 7.45 am and was cleared to fly between 2,000-2,500 feet. The reason for the crash was not yet known. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is probing the incident and will analyse the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder. Sources said the two pilots were experienced and familiar with the route.
The crashed chopper was manufactured in 1980 and was imported in 1996. Its certificate of airworthiness was renewed in February and was valid for a year.
