The Indian Air Force (IAF) has deployed Sukhoi Su-30 fighters jets and C-130 Hercules Special Ops aircraft on a search mission to locate it’s missing IAF AN-32 transport aircraft
An Indian Air Force transport aircraft that took off from Assam’s Jorhat earlier today with eight crew members and five passengers onboard has gone missing.
The Antonov An-32 took off at 12:25 pm for a remote military landing strip in Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh. The aircraft last had contact with ground forces at 1 pm. The plane lost contact around 35 minutes after taking off.
“Five crew and eight passengers carrying IAF plane were supposed to reach Mechuka at 13.30 and it hasn’t. We have initiated search operations,” said IAF PRO Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh. Army and ITBP personnel have also been pressed into action to join IAF in searches on the ground.
The Air Force has launched a search operation to track down the plane. The Indian Air Force has deployed all available resources, including Sukhoi Su-30 combat fighter jets and C-130 Hercules special operations aircraft, from Eastern Air Command to locate the aircraft.
Located in a valley, Mechuka is one of the many rudimentary landing strips operated by the Air Force near the Line of Actual Control with China.
The terrain under the flight’s route is mountainous and heavily forested. The landing and take-off approaches to Mechuka are extremely difficult. Coupled with the erratic weather, the region is among the most inhospitable for air transport.
