Indian AF An-32 crashes

[+ghostrider883 526]

An IAF An-32 transporter has crashed in the Eastern sector. It has yet to be confirmed if the aircraft crashed in Assam or Arunachal Pradesh. Initial reports indicate that the aircraft departed Air Force Station Jorhat today at 1PM and landed at a newly refurbished advanced landing ground (ALG) in Arunachal Pradesh. After departing the ALG a short while later, the aircraft went missing and later crashed. As of 21.30 today, the IAF has still designated the aircraft as missing, though sources in Shillong and Tezpur have confirmed that the aircraft has gone down. A court of inquiry has been ordered. Sources say the aircraft was piloted by two Wing Commanders, six IAF officers and 12 other ranks were on board, including some Assam Rifles troops. The An-32 was from one of the Jorhat-based transport squadrons (No.43 "Ibex" or No.48 "Camels").

 

May their souls rest in peace.

The last IAF An-32 crash was in 1990. IT may take some time to find the wreckage since it is believed to have crashed in thick jungles in bad weather.

Edited June 10, 2009 by ghostrider883

[Erwin_Hans 6]

I read some about this crash.....

 

Some Chinese info says the aircraft crashed in China side...

 

Maybe some problem such as lost control or something...ect.

 

Hope not to be a problem for China-Indian friendship...

 

Above all...there won't be any crisses between China and Indian.

[Erwin_Hans 6]

And..

 

R.I.P

[macelena 1,070]

[JediMaster 451]

They stopped An-32 production, didn't they? How old on average is the fleet?

[+ghostrider883 526]

I read some about this crash.....

 

Some Chinese info says the aircraft crashed in China side...

 

Maybe some problem such as lost control or something...ect.

 

Hope not to be a problem for China-Indian friendship...

 

Above all...there won't be any crisses between China and Indian.

 

Nope, it crashed in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Wreckage of the Indian Air Force AN-32 aircraft, which went missing in Arunachal Pradesh with 13 people on board, has been found, police said on Wednesday.

 

IAF began aerial reconnaissance in the morning to trace the transport aircraft that went missing over the mountains of Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday evening and was feared to have crashed.

 

The aircraft was on its way to Jorhat in Assam from the Mechuka advanced landing ground (ALG) in West Siang, close to the China border.

 

The Russian-built AN-32, a reliable workhorse, took off at 2 pm from Mechuka but lost radio contact soon. The aircraft had six IAF personnel and “six or seven” other passengers, said to be from the Army. There is no motorable road to Mechuka.

 

Three IAF officers are among those on board. Names and ranks of those in the aircraft have not been released.

 

India has close to 100 AN-32 aircraft. Eight have been lost in accidents since induction in 1984. The last crash in which casualties took place was in March 1999 when an AN-32 crashed near Delhi, killing 22 people.

[Erwin_Hans 6]

Nope, it crashed in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.

 

 

Hope so.

[Silverbolt 104]

is there any hope to found somebody alive?

 

i know how hard is found this such of debris... in 2006 an Boeing 737 full of people had an mid-air with an Embraer Legacy....+- 12 hours Air Force found the debris...the problem was: how to take everything in middle of amazonic jungle....i think the rescue took 2 weeks to take all out...they had to sent some paratroopers to open a 'windown' than send the helicopters....

[+ghostrider883 526]

They stopped An-32 production, didn't they? How old on average is the fleet?

 

AN-32 induction started in 1984. Upgradation of the fleet was proposed but no action was taken.

The first An-32 crash took place on 22 March 1986 killing 17 on board. Three days later, an An-32(K-2729) on ferry flight from Russia to India crashed in the Arabian Sea. In that crash, US Navy ships were out in force searching the same area without revealing why(rumours had it then that it was MAC with an USN a/c).

 

An-32 was also involved in a freak accident during the mid 90s. There was case of the navigator getting sucked out when his bubble window gave way. As the navigator wasn't wearing the chute (case in most of transport a/c), it resulted in the fatality. This was when the a/c was enroute to Leh from Chandigarh.

Two An-32s were lost in a MAC during a paradrop exercise in 1992.

 

It was a cool night on 01 April 1992 when nine AN 32 Air Force aircraft took off from the Air Force station, Chandigarh, for carrying out a displaced trail formation – routine practice for an exercise. Everything was proceeding smoothly till the third aircraft in the formation mistook the first aircraft to be the second. In order to cover up the distance, the pilot tried to fly into what he thought was his position, little realising that his aircraft was right above the second aircraft.

 

The resulting collision between the third and second aircraft saw one of the planes disintegrating midair in a huge ball of fire. The other, losing control, veered away from Bahri village and crashlanded into a field nearby. The families of the three extremely professional and upcoming officers, who were a part of the crew of these two illfated aircraft, have since settled down in Chandigarh.

 

Wg Cdr Makol is still remembered for his heroic attempts to save the aircraft by trying to land it into the fields, saving the village nearby.

 

In 1999 near the Indo-Pak border in Kashmir, an AN-32 was hit by a Pakistani stinger which resulted in loss of one engine, it made a safe landing however.

Edited June 10, 2009 by ghostrider883

[+ghostrider883 526]

is there any hope to found somebody alive?

 

All are feared dead

The defence personnel were feared to have died when the aircraft crashed over Rinchi hill above Heyo village, 60 km from Mechuka in the district, located closed to China border, they said.

 

Though a wireless message, received at the SP's office at district headquarters Aalo, confirmed the recovery of the wreckage, there was no word about any recovery of human remains.

 

The aircraft was on a routine food supply sortie and was carrying seven IAF personnel and six army personnel, an IAF spokesman said.

 

The message, sent by the officer in-charge of Mechuka police station, said two search parties of the Army and the border guarding paramilitary force, ITBP, left for the village this morning.

 

The police quoted some local people saying that they saw smoke billowing after a very loud sound from the distant hills.

 

Among the IAF men on board were two wing commanders, two squadron leaders and a flight lieutenant.

 

The plane had taken off from the Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh to Jorhat in Assam at around 2 pm on Tuesday after which it went missing.

 

An-32 crash deceased from IAF:

Wing Commander GS Butalia,

Wing Commander PK Saji,

Squadron Leader P. Siddharth,

Squadron Leader Manas Mishra

Flight Lieutenant Varun Kumar,

Master Warrant Officer Ramesh

Aircraftsman S Kumar.

 

Rest in peace.

Edited June 10, 2009 by ghostrider883

[+Typhoid 231]