Sikkim, June 13: Five Indian Air Force personnel lost their lives after an AN-32 transport aircraft crashed during a landing attempt at the Jorhat airbase on Saturday.
The military transport plane was returning to the Rowriah facility following an unspecified technical problem encountered shortly after its initial departure. According to defense authorities, the aircraft carried six individuals, including the flight crew. The co-pilot survived the impact and is receiving medical care at a local facility.
Officials stated that the twin-engine turboprop did not maintain alignment with the landing strip, coming to rest outside the primary runway zone where a fire subsequently erupted. Emergency teams and firefighting units sealed the immediate perimeter to manage the site, while senior military officers arrived at the station to supervise the recovery efforts.
The Indian Air Force confirmed the initiation of an official investigation to determine the exact circumstances behind the operational failure.
“An IAF An-32 aircraft met with an accident today while landing at Jorhat,” the defense branch noted in an official statement. “A court of inquiry is being constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident.”
The Soviet-origin fleet serves as a central asset for the military’s logistics framework, frequently utilized for moving cargo and deploying personnel across remote areas.
