IAF An-32 crashes in Arunachal Pradesh

[third eye]

Does any AF enjoy / like crashes ?

Grant the guys in blue something, there are / must reasons. Not all of them need to be in public domian. Internally, after every crash a detailed investigation is done & reasons are circulated to all concerned.

All AF takes crashes very very seriously.

 

[Communist]

Tell that to the guy at post # 12, who finds it funny when soldiers & airmen lose their lives in doing their duty to their nation.

...& this is a military forum

Kahan par usne funny find kiya hain, main toh abhitak samjha nehi... kaunsa angle se offensive laga? Kaise laga? Sabko patah hain ye military forum hain. Khamokha kisipe iljaam lagana achchi baat nehi...
Itna hatred kiyun yaar, kya problem hain tumhara?

 

[Screaming Skull]

Among 13 dead in IAF crash: pilot back from vacation, 24-yr-old on his first posting ​

Jun 11, 2009

GUWAHATI, NEW DELHI: The wreckage of an Indian Air Force AN-32 aircraft that went missing yesterday after taking off from an advanced landing ground (ALG) in Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh was found this afternoon along a remote mountainside by a ground search party. All 13 on board are dead — the IAF said there were no survivors and two villagers claimed they had seen the plane exploding in mid-air.

The IAF Eastern Command in Shillong released the names of seven IAF crew members and six Army personnel who died in the mishap: Wing Commander Gitesh Jit Singh Butalia, Wing Commander P K Saji, Squadron Leader P Siddharth, Squadron Leader Manash Mishra, Flight Lieutenant Varun Kumar, Master Warrant Officer Ramesh, Aircraft Attendant Sanjay Kumar, Gunners V Singh, K Kumar, S Kumar, Naik B S Nanwhegh, Sepoy A K Tirkey and Radio Mechanic R Wangchuk.

The aircraft was being captained by Wing Commander ‘Boots’ Butalia (36), an experienced transport pilot based in Jorhat. IAF officers said he had reported for work after a family vacation in Sikkim. He leaves behind his wife Vaishali and twin boys who turned seven recently. His mother, a school teacher in Chandigarh, was visiting the family in Jorhat and had to be taken to hospital after she learnt of the crash. His father, late Wing Commander N J S Butalia, too was a transport pilot.

Among 13 dead in IAF crash: pilot back from vacation, 24-yr-old on his first posting

 

[Screaming Skull]

City loses Wing Commander to AN-32 crash ​

11 Jun 2009,

CHANDIGARH: Wing Commander GS Butalia, commander of the ill-fated AN-32 aircraft of the IAF that crashed in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday, was a
native of Sector 45 here.

He was posted at AF Station, Jorhat, in Assam and was living with his family there. His father, who is no more, was also in the IAF. His mother, presently residing in Chandigarh, left for Jorhat after receiving the tragic news.

The transport aircraft was carrying 13 persons, seven of the IAF and six Army personnel. It was reported missing on Tuesday while its wreckage was found on Wednesday. Defence authorities have confirmed the death of all 13 on board. Reports from Itanagar stated the wreckage was found at a village in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, police said. The aircraft was on a routine food supply sortie, an IAF spokesman said. Among the men on board were two wing commanders, two squadron leaders and a flight lieutenant.

City loses Wing Commander to AN-32 crash - Chandigarh - Cities - The Times of India

 

[Screaming Skull]

IAF pilot dies living his cherished dream ​

New Delhi, June 11, 2009

As a kid growing up in a boarding school, Flight Lieutenant Varun Kumar would often dream of flying planes. The 24-year-old died living his cherished dream when the air force’s Antonov-32 aircraft he was co-piloting vanished in the snow-capped mountains of Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday.

The wreckage of the IAF plane that went down with 13 personnel was spotted by a search team at over 12,000 ft in the far-flung West Siang district, 24 hours after it crashed. The team reached the crash site after an arduous five-hour trek.

The IAF’s An-32s and Mi-17 helicopters abandoned search due to inclement weather.

There were no survivors. Wing Commander G S Butalia was flying the Soviet-origin transport aircraft. Wing Commander P K Shaji, Squadron Leader P Siddharth, Squadron Leader Manas Mishra, two aircrew and six army troops were also killed.

The only child of his parents, Varun had rung up his mother in Jind, Haryana, a night before the crash to say that he was missing her. He wanted his parents to take the first flight to Jorhat in Assam, his base.

For Varun, his family mattered the most. “He had recently surprised his parents when he bought a Hyundai Verna for them while he took their old Maruti Alto to Jorhat,” said his uncle Shamsher Singh Ahlawat.

Varun celebrated his last birthday on May 24. He had chosen a girl for himself and called up his parents a day before the crash, seeking their approval. His parents had no objection.

A passionate aviator, Varun quit engineering college to join the National Defence Academy at Khadakvasla near Pune. Varun was being groomed to become a fighter pilot, but “he gave in to his family’s wishes for a safer career as a transport pilot”, his uncle Jagdeep Singh said from Jind.
But death strikes at will.

Never the one to let family down, Varun had in February timed his flight duty to be in Delhi for his cousin’s birthday. Before he took off from Jorhat, he called his cousin, asking her to bake his special cake, which he would carry back for his air force colleagues.

“He forgot to carry the cake along. He promised he would be back soon,” his cousin Torul Singh said.
It’s not just the pilots who will miss him in the skies, his squadron’s basketball team will also have to do without their star player.

IAF pilot dies living his cherished dream- Hindustan Times

 

[indiatech]

Villagers as eyewitness in the area have reported that there was a mid air explosion.

 

[destiny]

After crash, India inks $400 million deal for AN-32 fleet upgrade - India - The Times of India


NEW DELHI: Soon after an Antonov-32 crashed in Arunachal Pradesh, killing 13 military personnel on board, India has inked a $400 million deal with Ukraine to upgrade IAF's aging transport fleet of 104 such aircraft.

Though the contract was in the pipeline for a long time, with the AN-32s fast approaching the end of their "total technical life'' of 25 years by this year-end, the June 9 crash seems to have propelled the government to finally close the deal.

Russia, of course, remains miffed with India for moving towards signing a defence cooperation pact with Ukraine. Russia sees Ukraine, which inherited a robust defence industry after the Soviet Union breakup two decades ago, as a rival to its thriving arms exports business with India.

Under the contract, all the 104 AN-32s will get an upgrade and life extension overhaul over a period of five years, with an initial lot being sent to Ukraine and the rest undergoing it at Kanpur BRD (base repair depot).

"The project will be executed between 2009 and 2013. It will include life extension of both the engines and airframe, improved avionics suite, communication equipment and landing aids,'' said an official.

The medium-tactical transport AN-32s have had a relatively good flight safety record in IAF as compared to the MiG fighters, with the last major crash being recorded in Delhi in 1999, which killed 21 people. Of the 118 AN-32s inducted in 1984 to replace the then aging Dakota, Caribu and Packet planes, 14 have been lost in crashes till now.

But the twin-turboprop fleet, the IAF workhorse to ferry troops and supplies to forward areas, has suffered from poor serviceability, tardy maintenance, delays in overhauls and shortage of spares, resulting in a high AOG (aircraft on ground) percentage.

The parliamentary public accounts committee had recently, in fact, blasted the defence ministry and IAF for "slackness and ineptitude'' in the contract management and procurement of critical spares.

The IAF move to modify six AN-32s during 2001-2003 for VIP use had also come in for scathing criticism since it diverted them from their primary task of transporting troops and cargo.

 

[indiatech]

Black Box of AN-32 aircraft recovered

Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday said it has recovered the Black Box of the AN-32 transport aircraft that crashed on June 9 in Arunachal Pradesh killing 13 armed forces personnel on board. "The Black Box which was recovered last night, has been taken to Jorhat airbase in Assam for carrying out analysis," IAF sources said here. "If the analysis facility in Jorhat is not able to decode the Black Box, it will then be taken to the nearest base repair depot where the process will be carried out," sources added. The IAF's workhorse cargo airplane had crashed killing seven Air Force men and six Army personnel who were on board after it took off from Mechuka advanced landing ground in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The aircraft, which belonged to a transport squadron in Jorhan, was flying to Mohanbari in Assam when the mishap occurred. It took almost 24-hours for the state police, para-military and IAF personnel to search and locate the crash site. The Ukraine built AN-32s were acquired by India in 1984 and currently IAF operates five squadrons of around 100 aircraft of this make. The AN-32s have the capability to carry 20 tonnes of cargo or 40 fully armed forces personnel. India has just signed a USD 400 billion deal with Ukraine for modernising the ageing fleet of AN-32s with IAF. An AN-32 had crashed in February 2000 at the Vijaynagar advanced landing ground in Arunachal Pradesh. Another aircraft of this type went down near Palam airport here in March 1999 killing 21 personnel on board. In 1992, two AN-32 transport aircraft collided mid air during formation flying.

 

[indiatech]

IAF An-32 Avionics Upgrade Detailed

As part of the $402-million deal to upgrade 105 Aviant/Antonov An-32 of the Indian Air Force will involve a comprehensive engine and integrated avionics updation that will push the workhorse fleet for at least another two decades.

The upgrade will be undertaken by Antonov/Aviant and IAI jointly. The qualitative requirements as formally listed by the IAF for the upgrade are "extending service life, enhancing operational capabilities, easing workloads on crew and reducing maintenance costs".

LiveFist has learnt that the avionics of the An-32 will be replaced with an IAI-LAHAV-ELTA developed package, including a full glass cockpit with standard multi-function displays (MFDs) and a control display unit (CDU).

The LAHAV-ELTA avionics package that will go into each IAF An-32 includes a digital moving map, full NVG capability, in-flight mission rehearsal options, head-up display for both pilots (the IAF is still to communicate the the consortium if it wants HUDs for both pilots, one pilot, or none at all) and a significantly new advanced electronic warfare system (EWS), which will feature radar warning receiver, the fourth generation EL/M-2160 missile approach warning system, laser warning receiver and conventional countermeasures. Flight safety features being incorporated into the upgrade will include an advanced Terrain Avoidance Warning System (TAWS) and an Enhanced Traffic Collision Avoidance System (ETCAS), with options for a specialised weather radar.

 

[Blue Curacao]

Is it possible that the AN32 could have been shot down by a Chinese long range SAM, given that it was flying close to the border ? Could anyone with a good understanding of the region elaborate please?

 

[third eye]

Is it possible that the AN32 could have been shot down by a Chinese long range SAM, given that it was flying close to the border ? Could anyone with a good understanding of the region elaborate please?

Read post #7.

 

[aimarraul]

Is it possible that the AN32 could have been shot down by a Chinese long range SAM, given that it was flying close to the border ? Could anyone with a good understanding of the region elaborate please?

you should revenge if you think so .......

 

[Blue Curacao]

Dude, i'm just seeking an intelligent opinion ....do you have anything to contribute on this line ?

 

[aimarraul]

Dude, i'm just seeking an intelligent opinion ....do you have anything to contribute on this line ?

did you shot down russia's plane when it's close to mumbai....

 

[vinaash]

did you shot down russia's plane when it's close to mumbai....

well it seems u are out of sync