Debris of missing IAF's An-32 aircraft traced in Bay of Bengal, after over 8 years
File photo of Indian Air Force An-32 K-2743 aircraft
The debris from Indian Air Force An-32 K-2743 aircraft was found on Friday (Jan 12) nearly eight years after it went missing over the Bay of Bengal. The debris has been locatedabout 310 km off the Chennai coast, ata depth of 3.4 km.
"The debris of the Indian Air Force An-32 aircraft (registration K-2743) that went missing over the Bay of Bengal in 2016 has been found approximately 140 nautical miles (approx. 310 Km) from the Chennai coast," saidIndia's defence ministryin a statement:
"National Institute of Ocean Technology which functions under the aegis of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, had recently deployed an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) with deep sea exploration capability at the last known location of the missing An-32. The search images were scrutinised and found to be conforming with an An-32 aircraft. This discovery at the probable crash site, with no other recorded history of any other missing aircraft report in the same area, points to the debris as possibly belonging to the crashed IAF An-32 (K-2743)," the statement added.
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The aircraft disappeared over the Bay of Bengal on July 22, 2016. It took off from Tambaram in Chennai at 8:30 am with 29 personnel on board.
According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the plane made its last radio contact at 8:46 am and was last seen on the radar at 9:12 am when it was 151 nautical miles east of Chennai.
It was due to arrive at Port Blair, about 1400 km away, at 11:45am.
For weeks, P-8I surveillance aircraft, Dorniers, helicopters and several frontline warships were deployed in the search and rescue around 200 nautical miles east of Chennai.
About IAF AN-32 aircraft
The AN-32 is a Soviet-origin military transport aircraft that has been in service with Indian Air Force since 1984. The Air Force has a fleet of around 100 AN-32 planes. The planes have been upgraded and modernised with advanced avionics, communications systems, landing aids, and better seats.
(With inputs from agencies)