New Delhi: The wreckage of Indian Air Force’s (IAF) missing AN-32 aircraft was spotted Tuesday by a Mi17 helicopter 16 km north of Lipo in Arunachal Pradesh in a valley where it was not supposed to be, and at a height of nearly 12,000 feet.
The aircraft went missing on 3 June while on a routine flight from Jorhat in Assam to Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground in Arunachal Pradesh. There were 13 personnel on board.
On Tuesday noon, a Mi17 chopper of the IAF spotted the wreckage north-east of Tato at an approximate elevation of 12,000 feet, the Air Force said on Twitter.
It later said efforts are being made to establish the status of the 13 personnel on board.
Sources said the aircraft was not supposed to be in the valley from where its debris were found.
“But then there is nothing extraordinary if deviations are taken. There is no fixed ATC kind of route. Flying through such areas is always through the visual element,” an IAF officer said, when asked if there was a navigation error.
He said only an analysis of the black box will reveal the details and any reasons derived now will be pure conjecture.
Search operations
The IAF, along with the Army, Navy and the local administration, had launched a massive search operation, deploying several assets. These included the Navy’s C-130J aircraft, SU-30MKI fighter aircraft, P-8i long-range reconnaissance aircraft, Advanced Light Helicopters, MI-17 helicopters and Cheetah helicopters.
The P-8i and SU-30MKI have powerful radars, which can penetrate deep inside thick forested areas, where the AN-32 aircraft might have crashed.
The P-8i has Synthetic Aperture Radar and Electro-Optical and Infra-Red (EO & IR) sensors.
Satellite photography was also used to find the location of the aircraft. The IAF had also deployed unmanned aerial vehicles in the area. The Army, Assam Rifles and Arunachal police along with villagers had also undertaken foot-patrolling to trace the aircraft.
Bad weather had stalled aerial search operations for two days earlier this week, but ground operations continued in the mountainous area.
Not an upgraded aircraft
The AN-32 aircraft that crashed was not an upgraded one. A total of 45 aircraft have been upgraded, but none was deployed in the Northeast.
Among other upgrades, the refurbished AN-32s come equipped with two contemporary Emergency Locator Transmitters — the ARTEX C406-1 and the portable KANNAD 406AS — as against the obsolete unit that was installed in the missing AN-32.
The IAF has lost 10 aircraft in nine crashes this year and 23 lives have been lost in these incidents.
The month of February saw as many as five crashes, which included the Mi15 V5 chopper that was shot down in a friendly fire.
Also read: There are 46 upgraded AN-32 aircraft, but none deployed in the Northeast
Has IAF released any status of the survivors or casualties yet ?
Hope the families will get maximum possible support from the government.