1968 Indian Air Force An-12 crash
.jpg) An Indian Air Force Antonov An-12, similar to the crashed aircraft. | |
| Occurrence | |
|---|---|
| Date | 7 February 1968 |
| Summary | Missing from 1968 till discovery of mortal remains of one of the victims in 2003 Crashed[1] |
| Site | Dhaka Glacier, India |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Antonov An-12 |
| Operator | Indian Air Force |
| Registration | BL534 |
| Flight origin | Chandigarh International Airport, Chandigarh[1] |
| Destination | Leh Airport, Jammu and Kashmir[1] |
| Passengers | 98 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 102 [1] |
| Missing | 98, 4 remains recovered[2] |
| Survivors | 0 |
On 7 February 1968, an Antonov An-12 turboprop transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force piloted by Flight Lieutenant Harkewal Singh and Squadron Leader Pran Nath Malhotra,[3][4][5] disappeared while flying to Leh Airport from Chandigarh.[2] Flight 203 was on approach to Leh when the pilot decided to turn back due to inclement weather,[1] the aircraft then went missing with the last radio contact over the Rohtang pass. It was declared missing after the failure to find the wreck.
Recovery[edit]
In 2003 members of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute who were trekking on the South Dakka Glacier came across the remains of a human body.[2][3] The body was identified as Sepoy Beli Ram, a soldier of the Indian Army who was on the flight.[6]
On 9 August 2007 an Indian Army expedition code named Operation Punaruthan-III,[7] recovered three more bodies.[8]
From 2003 till 2009 three search expeditions have been carried out with the recovery of four bodies.[2] The crash location lies at a height of about 18,000 feet (5,500 m), at a gradient of 80 degrees.
On 21 July 2018 the Times of India reported that a mountaineering team at the Chandrabhaga-13 peak had found a body at the Dhaka glacier base camp.[9] The team found wreckage of the plane along with the remains of a soldier on 11 July 2018.[9][10] The team leader mentioned that the expedition was on a mission to clear up the trash left behind by climbers, and that it was organised by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation and the ONGC.[10]
On 18 August 2019, after 13 days of search and recovery operation, a joint team of Indian army and Indian air force recovered several parts of the aircraft like the aero engine, fuselage, electric circuits, propeller, fuel tank unit, air brake assembly and a cockpit door.[11]
See also[edit]
- List of missing aircraft
- 1986 Indian Air Force An-32 disappearance
- 2016 Indian Air Force An-32 crash
- 2019 Indian Air Force An-32 crash
- 1963 Poonch Indian Air Force helicopter crash
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e AN-12 Accident description Aviation Safety Network 31 October 2017
- ^ a b c d 1968 IAF transport aircraft crash: Mortal remains of victim recovered News 18 31 October 2017
- ^ a b Missing An-12 Mystery Solved after 33 Years Archived 2017-11-07 at the Wayback Machine War Birds of India 1 September 2003
- ^ Flight Lieutenant Harkewal Singh Bharat-Rakshak.com 3 October 2018
- ^ Squadron Leader Pran Nath Malhotra Bharat-Rakshak.com 3 October 2018
- ^ A wish realised after 35 years The Tribune August 5 2003
- ^ Frozen IAF mystery melts Archived 2017-11-07 at the Wayback Machine The Telegraph 10 August 2007
- ^ ID-card may reveal mystery of crashed AN-12 aircraft Sify News 1 August 2012
- ^ a b Climbers find body of soldier killed in 1968 plane crash Times of India 21 July 2018
- ^ a b Mountaineering team stumbles upon 50-yr-old wreckage of IAF plane The Hindu 21 July 2018
- ^ "IAF aircraft parts recovered 51 years after crash". 2019-08-18.