Rough Weather When Indian Air Force Plane AN-32 Went Missing: What We Know So Far

A transport plane of the Indian Air Force with 29 people on board went missing on Friday morning while flying from Chennai to Port Blair.

The AN-32 aircraft took off at 8.30 am from Tambaram in Chennai and the last contact with it was made 16 minutes

later, defence sources said.

Here is what we know so far.

- There was rain and thunderstorm around the area the plane went missing.

- The aircraft went off the radar 40 minutes into the flight

- The Antonov AN-32 is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft.

- The aircraft can fly for up to four hours without refuelling.

- A massive search operation has been launched by the IAF, Navy and the Coast Guard.

- It is not clear how many Army/IAF personnel were among those on board

The AN-32 light military transport multi-purpose aircraft can be operated in various climate conditions, including hot climate and from mountain airfields up to 4500 m elevation.

The main aircraft purpose is to transport cargoes over short and medium range air routes. It can be used for carrying military personnel and cargo and its ambulance version can be used in missions of Emergency Ministry.

The aircraft has a high manoeuvrability for flights.

AN-32 is basically a re-engined AN-26. The launch customer was the Indian Air Force, which ordered the aircraft partly due to good relations between then USSR.

The AN-32 is designed to withstand adverse weather conditions better than the standard AN-26. It is more powerful than its predessor the AN-26.

India has bought 125 aircraft so far of which 105 are still in service.