Maharashtra / 24-year-old man dies after blade of helicopter he was building slashes throat

YAVATMAL: A 24-year-old school dropout, who aspired to build a helicopter himself, died after one of the rotor blades of the chopper he was testing, broke and slashed his throat at Fulsawangi village in Mahagaon tehsil of the district on Tuesday night.

The deceased Sheikh Ismail Sheikh Ibrahim had stopped going to school while in Std 8 and started working in elder brother Mussavir’s gas welding workshop and mastered the art of making almirahs, coolers and other household articles with steel and aluminium sheets.

It was Ismail’s passion to do something different to bring international fame for his village Fulsawangi.

“Inspired by the character of Rancho in the film ‘3 Idiots’, Ismail wanted to do something unique and hence decided to build a helicopter in the village. After gathering information about the design and assembly by watching YouTube videos, he started working on his dream project. It took nearly two years for Ismail to collect all the parts needed. He also readied the prototype of a single-seater helicopter by welding steel pipes and fitted a Maruti 800 engine to power it,” said his friend Sachin Ubale.

“Ismail wanted to exhibit the helicopter to the public on Independence Day this year and so he decided to test the flying machine near his workshop. On Tuesday night, he occupied the pilot seat and started the engine as some of his friends watched in awe,” said Ubale.

While everyone was thrilled when the rotor wings started moving speedily, the tail rotor blade assembly got ripped off from the body and hit the main blades on the top. “Even before anyone could understand what was happening, a piece of the broken blade slashed Ismail’s throat and he collapsed to the ground,” said Ubale.

Those watching the experiment rushed to help a heavily bleeding Ismail and he was immediately taken to a hospital in Pusad. However, he breathed his last before any medical aid could be provided.

“He used to test functioning of the chopper very often. Earlier, he had been successful in lifting the helicopter 5 feet above the ground. It was his final trial on Tuesday,” said Ismail’s another friend Harish. “He used to wear a helmet and headphone every time he tested the chopper. But on the fateful night, he did not wear both,” Harish added.

Ismail had named his flying machine ‘Munna Helicopter’, Munna being his nickname.

Some of those gathered to witness the helicopter trial had shot a video, which captured the accident also. The video has now gone viral on social media.

Ismail was cremated on Wednesday in the presence of a large number of villagers.

“The police have taken Ismail’s elder brother and three friends to the police station for further investigation. The police will also take the helicopter into their custody,” Harish told TOI.

A pall of gloom descended on the village as news of death of the local Rancho, as Ismail was known in the area, spread like wildfire. Former MLA of Umarkhed Rajendra Najardhane and many others visited the bereaved family to offer their condolences.