Navy surveillance aircraft crashes off Goa; two missing

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 25

Two Indian Navy officers went missing on the high seas after a surveillance plane, a Dornier, crashed into the Arabian Sea some 40 km south-west of the Navy’s base at Goa on Tuesday night. The site is 1,015 km west of the Karwar naval base.

(Video: Navy aircraft crashes off Goa coast)

The two officers, including one pilot, were on board the Dornier. A third officer, immediately identified as ‘Commander Joshi’, was rescued by fishermen. He was admitted to the Naval Hospital in Goa.

The plane was on a low-flying sortie on the west coast when it lost radio contact around 10 pm and later crashed. The Navy has sent in six warships carrying helicopters for the rescue.

This is the third crash of the Naval Air Wing since 2012. In October 2012, a Navy Cheetah helicopter crashed off Goa, killing three personnel. The rotor of the copter blew off in what was suspected material failure. In March 2013, a Cheetah helicopter crashed off Vishakhapatnam harbour and two pilots were reported missing. This too was a case of suspected material failure.

The Navy has a fleet of more than 200 planes and helicopters. Besides the 66-strong Dornier fleet, the Navy flies the MiG 29k fighter jets, Sea Harrier jets, Boeing P8-I long-range maritime surveillance and antisubmarine warfare aircraft, the IL-38 Sea Dragon, and the TU 142 aircraft. The helicopters include the ALH produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, the Kamov-series from Soviet Union/Russia, the Seakings and the HAL-produced Cheetah, based on French-origin Lama Alouette Ill.