[Peetwo]

Latest on the 'still missing' IAF AN-32 -

Courtesy BBC India... :

The 'puzzling' disappearance of an Indian military plane
Image copyright EPA Image caption The An-32 - the "workhorse" of India's air force



Normal aircraft tracking


Air traffic control - standard international practice is to monitor airspace using two radar systems: primary and secondary.

Primary radar -based on the earliest form of radar developed in the 1930s, detects and measures the approximate position of aircraft using reflected radio signals. It does this whether or not the subject wants to be tracked. Secondary radar, which relies on targets being equipped with a transponder, also requests additional information from the aircraft - such as its identity and altitude.

All commercial aircraft are equipped with transponders (an abbreviation of "transmitter responder"), which automatically transmit a unique four-digit code when they receive a radio signal sent by radar.

The code gives the plane's identity and radar stations go on to establish speed and direction by monitoring successive transmissions. This flight data is then relayed to air traffic controllers.

However, once an aircraft is more than 240km (150 miles) out to sea, radar coverage fades and air crew keep in touch with air traffic control and other aircraft using high-frequency radio.

P2 comment: Carol H ( @whiteswanuk ) - who has been diligently keeping us updated (via twitter) on the latest news from this extensive SAR operation - informs me that this is the first MSM article for some time that recognises that the IAF aircraft remains mysteriously missing. HERE is a link for Carol's latest update for the SAR...

From that BBC article I cannot but help see many parallels to the MH370 tragedy. Perhaps we are seeing a modern day 21st century equivalent of the Bermuda triangle in the waters off SE Asia & the Asian subcontinent?

Update: Again brought to my attention by Carol H, apparently there has been some positive developments in recent days...

Courtesy First Post India:

Missing IAF flight AN-32 found? GSI vessel finds possible debris off Chennai coast
FP Staff Aug 22, 2016 10:18 IST


A Geological Survey of India (GSI) ship may have stumbled upon possible debris of the missing IAF flight AN-32 in deep-sea, reports said on Monday.

JUST IN | Debris of #MissingAN32 found in deep sea 200 nautical miles off Chennai. It was spotted by MV Samudra Ratnakar early morning.
- The Hindu (@the_hindu) August 22, 2016

The Hindu reported that oceanographic research vessel, RV Samudra Ratnakar, found "linear pieces over a 4,500-sq km area underwater." The RV Samudra Ratnakar was deployed to locate the missing AN-32. However, the report also added that there was no clarity if the pieces belonged to the missing aircraft. Defence authorities on Sunday said that the debris was located 160 nautical miles off Chennai coast.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, senior Coast Guard official told Deccan Herald, "We suspect that the objects might be the parts of AN-32 aircraft, which might have crashed in the sea."

Speaking to The Hindu, deputy director general of Geological Survey of India, S Raju said, "We got a report that at 14 places, linear pieces were found. We are not sure if the parts are from the aircraft. These could be rocks, plate movement, or volcanic activity, as these are at a depth of over 3,000 metres."

The ill-fated AN-32 had taken off on a routine courier flight to Port Blair from Tambaram air base near Chennai on 22 July at 8.30 am with six crew and 23 personnel, but never arrived at the destination. It was last seen on the radars at 9 am. The missing AN-32 aircraft, which had flown multiple times over the Bay of Bengal carrying military personnel and equipment, did not have an underwater locator system, making it difficult for rescuers to pinpoint the position of the plane.

In fact, none of the upgraded AN-32 aircrafts, the main workhorse of the military, has an underwater locator, unlike the modern transport planes like C130J or C17, PTI had reported.

The missing aircraft came with two Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) – a stationary ARTEX C406-1 ELT manufactured by ACR Electronics/Artex Products, the US, and a French-made portable KANNAD 406AS ELT manufactured by Orolia. In an emergency, the pilot has to activate the ELT beacon manually. The integrated ELT gets activated when the impact is about 2.3 G or 4.5 feet per second.

However, ELT would not get activated automatically since radio waves are not transmitted in the water. There is no signal from ELT under water for this reason, IAF sources said. The sources said trials were already on to procure underwater ELTs for the aircraft and, as an emergency measure, effort is to have some kind of an underwater ELT on any aircraft that flies over water. Also, the AN-32 aircraft does not have the Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast. This system relies on navigational satellites to automatically transmit an aircraft's journey in real time and it can be switched on and off based on operational needs.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said overdue action, as per the Standard Operating Procedures, started at 12.30 hours, one hour after the scheduled arrival at Port Blair and nearly three-and-a-half hours after the plane went out of ground radar cover area. It was only at 1225 hours that Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre, Chennai reported that an IAF AN-32 (AF-330) was not in contact. The weather at the time when the plane went missing was overcast with multi-layered clouds and embedded convection. The pilot had asked for deviation to the right to avoid a thundershower cloud before disappearing.

With inputs from agencies

MTF...P2