2016 Indian Air Force An-32 crash

On 22 July 2016, an Antonov An-32 twin engine turboprop transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed while flying over the Bay of Bengal. The aircraft was en route from Tambaram Air Force Station in the city of Chennai on the western coastline of the Bay of Bengal to Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There were 29 people on board. Radar contact with the aircraft was lost at 9:12 am, 280 km east of Chennai. No trace of the aircraft was found in the immediate aftermath. The search and rescue operation became India's largest search operation ever for a missing plane on the sea. In January 2024, wreckage discovered off the coast of Chennai was confirmed as belonging to the ill-fated aircraft, indicating it crashed into the sea with no survivors.

The Indian Air Force has suffered other similar incidents, mainly involving Antonov An-32 aircraft in 1986 and 2019.

Accident and aftermath

The Antonov An-32 took off from Tambaram Air Force Station, Chennai at 08:30 local time on 22 July 2016. It was expected to land in Port Blair around 11:45 local time. The Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard launched a large search and rescue operation, using a submarine, 12 surface vessels and five aircraft.

On the third day after the disappearance, 16 ships, a submarine and six aircraft were deployed to search for the missing An-32 in the Bay of Bengal, about 150 nautical miles east of Chennai. On 1 August, it was confirmed that the aircraft had no underwater locator beacon (ULB). It did have two emergency locator transmitters (ELTs).

On 15 September 2016, the search and rescue mission was called off; all 29 people on board were presumed dead and their families were notified.