Indian Army’s daring Nun Kun rescue at 18,600 feet goes viral, one-skid landing draws praise
Indian Army’s daring Nun Kun rescues at 18,600 feet. (Image courtesy: X/@firefurycorps)
New Delhi: An extraordinary Indian Army aviation rescue at 18,600 feet near Nun Kun has gone viral on social media, with a helicopter position against a mountain slope drawing widespread praise for the pilot’s courage and exceptional flying skill. The operation has particularly caught attention because the aircraft had virtually no landing ground, forcing the crew to improvise a high-risk one skid landing to evacuate casualty.
The evacuation was carried out on a steep and exposed slope amid strong winds, leaving the pilots with the little room for rescue. The helicopter was stripped of non-essential equipment and carried limited fuel to reduce its weight before the crew attempted the evacuation during the final available landing window of the day.
The most striking part of the rescue was the helicopter’s one-skid landing on the slope. The pilots kept the aircraft partly in the air while one skid touched the mountain, allowing the causality to be brought safely on board.
The images have also prompted comparisons with some of the Indian Air Force’s most remarkable mountain rescues, an aspect highlighted by IAF historian Anchit Gupta. One of the closest parallels dates back to June 1992, when Squadron Leader Pankaj Jaiswal and Squadron Leader Pravin Kumar Sharma of 111 Helicopter Unit rescued British mountaineer Stephen Venables during the Indo-British Panch Chuli expedition.
Venables had fallen around 80 metres after an abseil anchor failed while descending from Panch Chuli. He suffered a broken left ankle and serious injuries to his right knee and chest before his companions managed to move him to a small tent platform at around 5,600 metres.
The problem was same the platform was too small for a conventional landing. After repeated attempts in difficult weather, the pilots brought their Aloutte helicopter and carried out a “half landing”. Placing one skid on the edge of the platform while keeping the rest of the aircraft clear of the mountain.
Because there were no cable rope available, injured mountaineers had to physically pulled into the helicopter while the pilots maintained the precarious position. The operation later described as an outstanding and courageous piece of flying, and both pilots received the Vayu Sena Medal.
Nun Kun has a long history of testing military aviators at extreme altitude. In 1979, major Gur Iqbal Singh Dhodi of 663 squadron was awarded the Shaurya Chakra after evacuating a critically ill Japanese mountaineer from around 6,750 metres. Two years later, captain Ranjit Singh Dev of 26 AOP Flight carried out another Nun Kun rescue at an altitude recorded at 23,800 feet.
