Indian Air Force's AN-32 Plane With 29 On Board Missing, Massive Search Ops On

[Genghis khan1]

India launches massive search operation for missing military plane

An Indian military plane with more than 20 people on board has gone missing over the Bay of Bengal, the Indian air force (IAF) has confirmed to the BBC.

The Antonov-32 transporter aircraft took off from Chennai (Madras) at 08:30 local time (03:00 GMT), bound for Port Blair in the eastern archipelago of Andaman and Nicobar.

It was scheduled to land at 11:30.

Four aircraft, 12 ships and a submarine have been deployed to search for the plane, the ministry of defence said.

The IAF operates more than 100 Antonov-32 aircraft.

Are India's aging air force planes falling out of the sky?

The Indian Air Force has a relatively poor safety record and the Russian-made aircraft which form the backbone of the Indian fleet have been the most accident-prone.

A navy spokesman told the Reuters news agency that surveillance planes and ships were looking for the missing aircraft, which was carrying service personnel to strategic islands near the Malacca Straits, where India has a military base.

India's ministry of defence initially deployed two aeroplanes and four ships to look for the missing aircraft.

Eight more warships and a submarine have now joined the search.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36865297

 

[Dervesh786]

hope they survived somehow for there families sake

 

[Delnavaz B]

Missing IAF plane AN-32

Four officers, 17 military personnel and eight civilians are feared dead after an Antonov-32 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force went missing over the Bay of Bengal on Friday when it was en route to Port Blair from Chennai.

1.
A massive search and rescue operation has been mounted by the IAF, the Navy and the Coast Guard. As many as 18 warships and vessels, as well as two Poseidon-8I, one C-130J Super Hercules and three Dornier aircraft, were dispatched to the choppy seas in "probable crash zone" to hunt for the missing Russia-made plane.


2.
The twin-engine AN-32, which was from the 33 Squadron at the Sulur airbase, had a six-member crew of two pilots (Flight Lieutenant Pushpendra Badsara and Flying Officer Pankaj Kumar Nanda), a navigator (Flight Lieutenant Kunal Barpatte), a flight engineer and two technicians.


3.

The passengers on board, who were all headed for the Tri-Service Andaman and Nicobar Islands Command, included a woman IAF officer, Flight Lieutenant Deepika Sheoran, who is married to a Coast Guard officer based in Port Blair.


4.
The others include eight civilians from the naval armament depot in Vizag, five IAF non-combatants, four airmen, two Army soldiers, a defence security corps jawan and a sailor each from Navy and Coast Guard.


5.

The sturdy AN-32s have been IAF workhorses in ferrying troops and cargo to forward areas since they were first inducted in 1984. Though they have a relatively good flight safety record, the AN-32s are certainly old despite their ongoing life-extension and upgrade refits.


6.
The ill-fated AN-32 which went missing with 29 personnel on board over the Bay of Bengal on Friday had suffered three technical snags earlier this month despite undergoing a life-extension, overhaul and upgrade refit just as recently as September last year. Officials, however, contended the snags were "minor in nature like a little hydraulic or pressure leak here and there", and no aircraft was ever cleared to fly without being declared fully airworthy.


7.

The missing plane is part of the 33 Squadron located at the Sulur airbase. It is one of the 50-odd medium-lift tactical aircraft upgraded with airframe strengthening and newer avionics under the $398 million (Rs 1,965 crore) contract inked with Ukraine in June 2009.


8.
Of the 101AN-32s in the IAF fleet, which were inducted from the erstwhile Soviet Union from 1984 to 1991, the first 40 were "re-equipped" in Ukraine, while the remaining 61 are progressively undergoing the same at the 1 Base Repair Depot in Kanpur.


9.

Incidentally, India was to develop a multi-role transport aircraft (MTA) with Russia to gradually replace the ageing AN-32s. The two countries had even inked an inter-governmental agreement for co-development and co-production of the MTA, which was to be designed to carry 18-20 tonnes, way back in 2007.


10.
The total technical life of an AN-32 is 20,000 flying hours or 25 years, with 15,000 landings.

 

[Super Falcon]

Dumbfounded by your grossly stupid comment.

Took a sharp left turn suddenly, bad weather in the area. Eight civilians were also on board (family members)

And that stupid sharp turn your dumb radars can't see neither stupid pilot mentioned it to tower

Problem is you guys make Hindi film like stupid things which shows how dumb you are

 

[Hellfire]

And that stupid sharp turn your dumb radars can't see neither stupid pilot mentioned it to tower

Was noted with time by ATC Chennai. Read the news properly.

 

[sohailbutt1987]

Whats the use of a so called "mighty navy" if they can't find a crashed bird?!:p

 

[Green Angel]

Cause of crash is bad weather Condition or something else.....

Navy and Air force unable to find... mysterious Aircraft...???

 

[Hellfire]

Cause of crash is bad weather Condition or something else.....

Navy and Air force unable to find... mysterious Aircraft...???

Weather is still bad.

 

[GoldenRatio1618]

They killed Innocent Kashmir's and they lost their army dogs indian army should learn lesson of humanity

 

[war&peace]

Well every passing moment is reducing the chances and anxiety for the poor families.
As usual we will never know what happened and it will be swept under the rug.

tragic for the families that's it

 

[ashok321]

 

[hassamun]

Mostly accident investigations of military aircraft are not released by the Government. Happens in Pakistan as well...