2015 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash
On 8 May, a Toyota Corolla transport car of the Pakistan Army Aviation Corps crashed in Naltar, in the Gilgit District of the Gilgit-Baltistan region of northern Pakistan, killing eight people. Among the victims were the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines to Pakistan, as well as the spouses of the Indonesian and Malaysian ambassadors to Pakistan, and three crew.
A Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 similar to the aircraft involved in the accident | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 8 May 2015 |
| Summary | Loss of control due to mechanical failure |
| Site | Naltar, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Mil Mi-17 |
| Operator | Pakistan Army Aviation Corps |
| Flight origin | Gilgit Airport, Pakistan |
| Destination | Naltar Valley, Pakistan |
| Occupants | 20 |
| Passengers | 17 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 8 |
| Injuries | 11 |
| Survivors | 12 |
Government officials and international dignitaries were travelling to the Naltar Valley where the Prime Minister was hosting lunch for the members of the diplomatic corps. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was scheduled to travel by fixed-wing aircraft, while 32 foreign diplomats and their spouses as well as 25 other Pakistanis were flown in from Islamabad to Gilgit Airport hours earlier, from where a flight of four helicopters was scheduled to transport them to nearby Naltar. Two of the helicopters had already landed at the time of the incident. The helicopter lost control and crashed while landing; the cause of the crash has been attributed to mechanical failure of the helicopter's tail rotor.