Bangalore: A helicopter of the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) rotary wing academy today (Feb 12, 2004) crash-landed on its belly during a training sortie at the HAL airport in Bangalore, but both the flying instructor and the trainee pilot escaped with minor injuries.

A twin seater Schweitzer aircraft of the Helicopter Pilots Training Institute of the HAL academy crashed on the ground, after the two pilots took off on a training sortie late afternoon, HAL sources said.

The helicopter, which has been damaged extensively crashed close to the helipad, near the telemetry building of the Bangalore airport, but flying instructor Col K R Sashikumar and pupil Niranjan escaped with minor injuries. Both have been hospitalised and are under observation.

The cause of the accident has not been known.

HAL Bangalore Complex managing director A K Saxena confirmed the incident and said the director general of civil aviation has been asked to inquire into the accident, as the helicopter is civil certified.

The HAL Helicopters Pilot Training Institute, set up in 2000, is the only institute in the country that trains helicopter pilots.