Itanagar/New Delhi: A massive search operation involving a large fleet of planes, choppers and ground force was underway on Tuesday and satellite imagery being used to trace an AN-32 transport plane of the Indian Air Force, a day after it went missing near the thickly-forested Menchuka in Arunachal Pradesh.
Aircraft equipped with advanced sensors including C-130J, AN-32 and Indian Navy’s long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft P8I were deployed besides Mi-17 and ALH helicopters of the Army to locate the missing plane, officials said.
The Russian-origin transport aircraft, with 13 people on board, went missing on Monday afternoon around 33 minutes after taking off from Jorhat in Assam for Menchuka near the border with China.
IAF spokesperson Group Capt. Anupam Banerjee said the families of all air-warriors on board the aircraft have been informed and are being regularly updated on the progress of search for the missing aircraft. Military sources said rescuers have not received any signal from the emergency locator beacon in the missing plane, adding there is a possibility that the device may not have been functional. They said the plane that went missing is yet to be upgraded with latest avionics and radars, though some of the AN-32 were strengthened with advanced systems.
The Navy’s P-8I aircraft has been deployed as it has electro-optical and infra-red sensors.
