New Delhi: Five Indian Air Force personnel, including two officers, were killed when their Russian-origin Antonov An-32 transport aircraft crashed while landing at Jorhat in Assam on Saturday.
The co-pilot of the aircraft sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment at a military hospital in Jorhat, sources said. Six personnel were onboard the plane.
The aircraft met with the accident during a routine sortie at approximately 10 AM, according to the IAF.
The deceased personnel are Squadron Leader Prashant Singh, Flight Lieutenant Shubham Kumar, Sergeant Jitendra Sharma, Agniveervayu Khemaram Kumawat and Agniveervayu Danish Alam.
A court of inquiry has been constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident. It is learnt that the aircraft was set to fly to Chabua military base from Jorhat Air Force station but requested a landing shortly after taking off.
The sources said the aircraft lost control upon touchdown and skidded off the runway. It hurtled across the parallel taxiway, snapping into two segments before being engulfed in flames, they added.
“The Indian Air Force deeply regrets the loss of five personnel in the An-32 accident at Jorhat, Assam,” the force said in a statement.
“Sqn Ldr Prashant Singh, Flt Lt Shubham Kumar, Sgt Jitendra Sharma, Agniveervayu Khemaram Kumawat and Agniveervayu Danish Alam made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty,” it said.
The IAF extended its deepest condolences to the bereaved families and said it “stands firmly” with them in this hour of grief.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh expressed his “deep anguish” over the death of five “Air Warriors”.
“Their courage and service to the nation will always be remembered with pride and gratitude. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. The nation stands firmly with them in this hour of grief,” he said on X.
The An-32 is a Soviet-designed twin-engine turboprop transport aircraft.
The aircraft have served the IAF as a reliable workhorse for decades ferrying personnel and air-dropping vital supplies into some of the world’s most demanding terrain.
The IAF currently operates around 90 AN-32s.The fleet has undergone multiple rounds of upgrades to extend its operational life.
The IAF is now looking at replacing the ageing fleet of AN-32 as well as IL-76.
In 2022, the IAF issued a Request for Information (RFI) to purchase medium transport aircraft (MTA) to replace its aging fleet of the AN-32 and IL-76 planes. The acquisition process has now gained momentum.
The AN-32 aircraft were involved in at least 18 accidents in the last since late 1980s.
In June 2009, an AN-32 aircraft had crashed in Arunachal Pradesh and 13 people onboard the plane were killed in the accident.
Another AN-32 aircraft with 13 personnel on board disappeared shortly after taking off from the Jorhat Air Force station on June 3, 2019. The wreckage of the plane was found a week later in Arunachal Pradesh. All the people onboard the aircraft were killed.
An AN-32 aircraft with 29 personnel on board, had gone missing over the Bay of Bengal on July 22, 2016.
The wreckage of the aircraft was located at a depth of around 3.4 km in the Bay of Bengal in January 2024.
