New Delhi, Dec 8: Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) along with 12 others in chopper crash on Wednesday.

Rawat was on a visit to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (Nilgiri Hills) to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course today.

Around noon today, an IAF Mi 17 V5 helicopter with a crew of 4 members carrying the CDS and nine other passengers met with a tragic accident near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.

The crash once again brings to the fore the grave issue surrounding military aircraft accidents in India that have led to several fatalities in recent years.

Seven IAF aircrafts have crashed in the last two years, including the Mirage 2000 which crashed recently in Madhya Pradesh, the Central government informed the Parliament earlier last week.

Below is the list of deadly military plane crashes in India:

On October 21, 2021, a Mirage 2000 aircraft of the IAF on a training sortie crashed in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind.

On August 25, 2021, a MiG-21 fighter aircraft of the IAF crashed during a training mission in Rajasthan’s Barmer

On May 20, 2021, an IAF pilot was killed in a MiG-21 aircraft crash in Punjab’s Moga district.

On March 17, 2021, a Mig-21 Bison aircraft met with an accident in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior.

On January 5, 2021, a MiG 21 Bison aircraft crashed while landing in Rajasthan’s Suratgarh.

Before in February 2019, two aircraft of IAF’s aerobatic team Surya Kiran crashed after hitting each other mid-air, killing a pilot and injuring two who ejected to safety during a rehearsal for the Aero India show.

Similarly in October 2017, an Indian Air force chopper crashed during a training sortie near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. At least seven people died in the accident.

Earlier in December 2015, a paramilitary plane crashed near the Delhi airport and 10 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were killed.