Missing IAF An-32 aircraft: ‘Airforce must ground these 35 year old planes’

The aircraft was expected to land at Port Blair at 11.30 am.

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The IAF aircraft was last spotted on the radar by Air Traffic Control officials at 8.12 am. File Photo/Agencies

An Indian Air Force plane carrying 29 personnel, including six crew members, on board went missing Friday while making its way back to Port Blair from Chennai. The AN-32 aircraft was on a routine courier-run, and its Expected Time of Arrival at Port Blair was 11.30 am.

The AN-32 is a twin-engine aircraft and is primarily used as a cargo flight. In this case, tough, it had 29 people on board. It was reportedly on a routine weekly flight for Air Force personnel.

The aircraft reportedly went missing at 23,000 ft at 9.15 am. The plane was last spotted at 8.46 am according to Chennai ATC officials. The Indian Coast Guard, Navy and the IAF have launched an operation in the Bay of Bengal to locate the missing plane.

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The Navy has involved a P8 I, and a Dornier aircraft as well as four ships — Karmukh, Gharial, Jyoti and Kuthar, that have been diverted to the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) at full speed.

Twitter reactions ranged from expressing sorrow over the news to lamenting the continued usage of AN-32 aircraft despite it being outdated.

WATCH VIDEO: Indian Air Force’s An-32 Plane Goes Missing

Here is how twitterati reacted:

Matter of great concern for all of us that IAF AN-32 Aircraft has gone missing. Pray to Almighty God for the safety of all those on board.

— ShivrajSingh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) July 22, 2016

Troubling news. IAF An-32 transport aircraft missing en route from Port Blair to Chennai. 29 on board.

— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) July 22, 2016

#IAF #AN32 military aircraft missing on way to #PortBlair from #Chennai Tambaram air base 23+06 crew onboard pic.twitter.com/Gw6BrxVcmW

— Neeraj Rajput (@neeraj_rajput) July 22, 2016

#IAF Aircraft went missing at 21,000ft @ 915am en-route Chennai-PorBlair. Search&rescue by 3 aircraft in full swing @IndianExpress

— Arun Janardhanan (@arunjei) July 22, 2016

Prayers for missing #IAF plane, hope people on board are safe.

WATCH VIDEO: Indian Air Force’s An-32 Plane Goes Missing

— EKRAM WARIS (@ekramwaris) July 22, 2016

Great initiative, always leading from the front! Let’s get our boys back #IndianNavy #IAF #SAR #Antonovs https://t.co/R368alRmFj

— Akash Marathe (@ruskievityazi) July 22, 2016

Indian Air Force An-32 missing over the Bay of Bengal? Those Antonov transporters are decades old

— Varun Shridhar (@varunshridhar) July 22, 2016

I have travelled several times on AN32 aircraft. very uncomfortable flights. obsolete technology. IAF must ground these 35 yr old planes.

— Deepak Sharma (@deepakIndSamvad) July 22, 2016

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