IAF AN-32 aircraft meets with accident at Assam air base

Five Indian Air Force personnel were killed when an AN-32 transport aircraft crashed during landing at the Jorhat airbase in Assam on Saturday. The co-pilot survived the accident and is currently receiving medical treatment.

The IAF confirmed the incident, stating that the aircraft met with an accident during a routine training flight. Images from the crash site showed wreckage strewn across a field. Emergency response and firefighting operations were initiated at the military facility following the crash.

The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry to investigate the preliminary results of the accident. The force expressed its condolences to the families of those killed and said it stood with them in their grief.

The AN-32 is a twin-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed for operations in high-altitude regions and extreme weather. The Indian Air Force operates approximately 100 such aircraft, utilizing them for logistics, troop movement, and humanitarian aid, particularly in remote and mountainous areas.

This incident follows a series of accidents involving IAF aircraft in recent years. In March, two Indian Air Force pilots were killed when a Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jet crashed during a training mission in Assam. In 2019, another AN-32 crashed in Arunachal Pradesh near the India-China border, resulting in the deaths of all 13 personnel on board.