On the 13th October 1992, the haulage cable of the Timber Trail resort ropeway snapped and the cable car with 10 passengers on board got stuck in the middle of the valley at a height of 1300 feet above the river bed. At 1400 hours on 14th October, 1992 Wing Commander Subhash Chander was given the task of rescuing these stranded tourists. He took off from Chandimandir at 1410 hours and carried our a recce of the ropeway cables, HT cables, stranded cable car and other obstructions in the rescue area. At 1620 hours Wing Commander Subhash Chander took off for rescue mission which was one of the most difficult and dangerous rescue operation ever undertaken. Since the valley was narrow the helicopter had to be manoeuvred with utmost care and precision to bring it to hover at the point of the beginning of the ropeway height of 1350 feet. He brought the helicopter and made it lower about 30 meters above the cable with utmost skill and precision flying. The cable on the left was only about 3-5 meters away and under the rotor blades. To keep the helicopter steady at that height without any reference point and under cross wind conditions was a very difficult and challenging task.
The manoeuvre lasted about 15 minutes and was extremely demanding. Wing Commander Subhash Chander kept his cool and encouraged the crew members to maintain the highest level of concentration. The mission was successful and the stranded passengers were winched to the helicopter.
Wing Commander Subhash Chander has, thus, displayed conspicuous courage, dedication and exceptional flying skill.
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