The P-8I, a long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft, took off from INS Rajali, Arakonam in Tamil Nadu, at 1.00 p.m. and headed for joining the search and rescue operation to locate the missing plane between Jorhat and Mechuka, Navy spokesperson Capt. D.K. Sharma said.
P-8I aircraft of the Navy was on Tuesday deployed to search for the Indian Air Force’s An-32 transport aircraft that went missing with 13 persons onboard over Arunachal Pradesh since monday.
P-8I’s powerful Synthetic Aperture Radar and Electro Optical and Infra Red (EO & IR) sensors would be used for carrying out the search in the thickly forested areas, Capt. Sharma said.
The missing aircraft, which had eight crew and five others onboard, got airborne from Jorhat in Assam at 12.27 p.m. for the Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground in Arunachal Pradesh but lost contact around 1.00 p.m.
The Air Force had deployed transport aircraft C-130J, An-32 and Mi-17 helicopters to locate the missing plane. The Army too pressed into service an Advanced Light Helicopter. The missing plane has Emergency Locator Transmitters, which are active for a few days. The P-8I’s radar and other sensors can pick up these signals.
Indian Navy’s P-81 aircraft to search for AN-32 transport aircraft missing with 13 onboard
