Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 23

Even as a massive search for the missing Indian Air Force AN-32 transport plane carrying 29 on board continued for the second day today, questions are being raised as to how the plane disappeared without the pilots sending out a distress call.The plane has been missing since Friday after it took off from the Tambaram airbase, Chennai, at 8.30 am on a routine flight to Port Blair.The last radio contact was at 8.46 am and the plane was last spotted on the radar at 9.12 am when it was 151 nautical miles east of Chennai, over the Bay of Bengal. The IAF informed Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar that the aircraft made a left turn with a rapid loss of height from 23,000 feet. Parrikar flew with a search sortie aboard Navy’s P8-I aircraft this morning. He was shown images originating from the scanners and sensors.Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and Navy Eastern Command Chief Vice-Admiral HCS Bisht accompanied him.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The disappearance of the AN-32 is being seen with concern in the IAF as the Soviet-built aircraft are designed to fly even during emergency situations. 

Hope against hope in Bhiwani

Sat Singh

Tribune News Service

Bhiwani, July 23

“We pray that not only our daughter, but all 29 on board AN-32 return home safely,” the parents of Flight Lieutenant Deepika Sheoran stoically said here today. They have not given in to despair. They believe they will be reunited with their eldest child soon. The family belongs to Todda Dhani village in Bhiwani district.  “Deepika was a brilliant student. After BTech, she was preparing for the civil services when she decided to sit for the Combined Defence Services test. She made it in her first attempt,” recalled Dalip Sheoran with pride. An XEN (Public Health), he is posted at Hansi. Deepika joined the Indian Air Force in 2013 and her  first posting was at Port Blair. She married Kuldeep Dalal of Bhiwani, Commandant with the Indian Navy, on November 22, 2015. Her mother Prem Lata said she had spoken to her on the phone on Thursday night. “She told me that their plane would be returning to Port Blair on Friday.”  The Sheorans appealed to the Central Government to step up efforts to locate the missing plane and “bring back the survivors”.Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu today met family members of employees of the Naval Armament Depot (NAD) in Visakhapatnam. Eight employees of the depot were among those who boarded the AN-32 aircraft.

Before losing contact, pilot wanted to alter course

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 23

The aircrew of the AN-32 transport aircraft that went missing over the Bay of Bengal on Friday had asked the Chennai air traffic control (ATC) for a course deviation a few minutes before it reportedly lost contact with the ATC, it is learnt.IAF sources said around 9 am, the pilot had requested permission from the ATC to alter his course by 10 degrees to the right, ostensibly because of the prevailing weather conditions.The weather in the search area today was bad, with overhead clouds, rough seas and visibility being 3-4 nautical miles.The recently upgraded aircraft, which is reported to have suffered three snags this months, had left Tambaram airbase near Chennai at 8.30 am on Friday and was to land at Port Blair around 11.45 am. It fell off the radar at 9.12 am, 151 nautical miles (280 kms) east of Chennai.Permission to change course, sources said, was accorded. The aircraft had been cleared to fly at an altitude of 23,000 feet, which it would have reached in about 15 minutes after take-off with full load.“The possibilities here are that the aircraft flew into the eye of a storm or suffered a structural or electrical failure. Sabotage also cannot be discounted at this stage. These situations give little or no reaction time to transmit a distress signal,” an AN-32 pilot said.In June 2015, a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft had gone missing off the Chennai coast. Its remains were located 33 days later. An inquiry could not establish the cause of the crash.Under IAF’s standard operating procedure, the long sea stretch between Chennai and Port Blair requires AN-32s to fly with full fuel which is 5.5 tonnes. Five tonnes is pumped by tankers through under-wing access nodes, while the remaining is “poured” through an opening above the wing roots that requires a technician to climb on top of the aircraft and manually operate the fuel cap.An AN-32 pilot recalled an incident many years ago where the fuel cap of an aircraft was not properly secured. Mid-way over the Bay of Bengal, the aircrew observed unusually high fuel consumption. Inspection after landing revealed that the unsecured fuel cap had blown off in the air. “The air friction over the wing is very high and volatile fumes from the aviation fuel could have produced a spark with disastrous consequences. It was a miraculous escape from the aircraft,” he added.