Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat had survived a helicopter crash with minor injuries in Nagaland on February 3, 2015. He then held the rank of Lieutenant General and headed the army’s Dimapur-based HQs 3 Corps.
The Cheetah helicopter he was flying in crashed within seconds of taking off from Dimapur. The two pilots and another colonel also survived the crash that took place due to suspected engine failure.
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According to a Hindustan Times report from that day quoting an army official, the single-engine army aviation chopper had barely climbed 20 metres before it went out of control and crashed.