Mumbai chopper crash: Deceased pilot was ex-Army official, Kargil veteran

After his brother-in-law informed his neighbours in Meenal Apartment, Powai, of Mishra’s death, they rushed to the hospital in large numbers.

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Mishra is survived by his wife and two sons. His wife and elder son were in Bhubneswar when the accident occurred while his younger son was in Mumbai. “He was a jovial person, participated in everything. Almost all residents of the building have come here after the news broke,” said neighbour Naresh Ballani at the hospital where Mishra’s body was kept. According to Ballani, Mishra had been living in Meenal Apartments with his family for over eight years.

“He was a very experienced pilot,” said Mandar Bharde, who heads the private MAB Aviation.

After retiring from the Army eight years ago, Mishra had joined an aviation company called AAA, which also operated out of the Juhu aerodrome. After AAA shut down, he joined Aman Aviation four years ago.

The 1992-model Robinson R-44 helicopter Mishra was flying Sunday was purchased by Aman Aviation from previous owner Pawan Hans around four years ago. Aman Aviation used two choppers for joyrides over Mumbai. The second one is also a Robinson R44, which has a bubble-shaped glass cockpit globally used for aerial viewing.

According to officials, Borivli couple Ritesh and Vrinda Modi had hired the chopper for a 15-minute joyride. The route covers less than 10 nautical miles. Starting from Juhu, the flight heads north toward Gorai, and then takes a right towards Powai lake before returning to Juhu. The cost of the ride is Rs 5,250 per person.

Officials believe clutch failure in the aircraft led to the accident. The chopper was headed back to Juhu when it developed the technical fault. Mishra reportedly attempted to land thrice. At 11.56 am, he contacted the Juhu Air Traffic Control (ATC) declaring emergency.

“It is believed he was trying to land in the hilly area of Aarey as Juhu would have been far. Aarey provides a safer option as it is sparsely populated,” said an official from the Airport Authority of India (AAI). The chopper crashed into an empty opening in Filter Pada’s hilly terrain.

“When there is a clutch failure in the chopper, it falls like a stone. At such times, it becomes necessary for a pilot to get a level field and rewind his motor functions. As the areas around the place was bushy, no clear reason of what happened is understood,” said another AAI official who did not wish to be named.

Mishra was the last one to be rescued. According to locals, his body was stuck between the seat and mangled chopper parts.

“When we saw him, his head was badly injured. He was trapped under the seat belt. Since there were sparks and fire where he was seated, we could not rescue him immediately,” said Tabrez Khan, one of the local youth who rescued the occupants. Mishra was conscious when he was rescued but vomited a lot of blood on his way to the hospital, said the locals. He was immediately shifted into a police van. But he succumbed to injuries on his way to hospital.

“He was brought dead to the hospital,” said Dr Raj Karwa, medical superintendent at Seven Hills. When the chopper toppled over, Mishra was squeezed to the ground which made his rescue the most difficult. Mishra’s son will take his body to Bhubaneswar for final rites after a post-mortem, as per his mother’s wishes.