New Delhi: Army is screening the records of
the global positioning system (GPS) device on board the
chopper to find how it strayed into Pakistan-controlled
territory across the Line of Control (LoC) on Sunday.
Along with debriefing the four-member crew of the
Cheetah, we are also checking the records of the GPS to get a
clear picture about how the chopper strayed from its route and
how the two pilots could not determine their exact location,
sources said here.
They said the GPS device will help in finding the
exact route taken by the Cheetah helicopter to reach the
Olding base in Skardu under Pakistan, where it landed on
Sunday.
The chopper belonging to the 666 Siachen Phalcon unit,
flying from Leh to Bhimbhat in Jammu and Kashmir, went across
the Line of Control at around 1320 hours following bad
weather.
But soon after the landing, the pilots and two other
personnel of the Indian Army realised that the helipad was not
in the Indian territory but in Pak-controlled Northern Areas.
Sources said that the "debriefing" of the four crew
members was going on and they denied that any secret
information was accessed from the GPS device.
As far as the call signs and codes are concerned, they
are changed on a frequent basis and can`t be of much help for
any adversary, they said on reports that the Pakistan army has
got access to the call signs and codes.
After the Indian chopper strayed into Pakistan, they were
grilled for around four hours by the Pakistani authorities but
were treated well.
Once satisfied that the incident was inadvertent, the
Pakistan army released pilots Maj Raja and Maj Kapila along
with Lt Col Verma and Akhilesh Sharma of Engineering Corps.
PTI
