Assam: IAF orders court of inquiry into AN-32 crash at Jorhat airbase

The inquiry has been constituted following the accident involving the transport aircraft while it was attempting to land at the airbase.

In a post on X, IAF wrote, "An IAF An-32 aircraft met with an accident today while landing at Jorhat. A court of inquiry is being constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident."

The AN-32 is a twin-engine military transport aircraft that has been extensively used by the Indian Air Force for logistics, cargo transportation and operational support missions across diverse terrains, including high-altitude and remote regions.

Commenting on the incident, former Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Flight Operations Inspector Prashant Dhalla described the crash as unfortunate and said multiple factors could have contributed to the accident.

"It's a very unfortunate accident. The AN-32 is a widely used aircraft in the Indian Air Force and is primarily used for the transport of cargo. The surprising part is that this crash has happened within the vicinity of the Jorhart Air Force Station base. According to me, there can be multiple factors. That is a matter for the investigation. However, there were heavy rains reported. Also, low cloud activity was reported at Jorhart. It can be a case of spatial disorientation, a technical error, a weather related phenomena which has led to this catastrophic accident," Dhalla told ANI.

Earlier in the day, an AN-32 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed at the Jorhat Air Force Station in Assam.

Confirming the incident, the IAF said, "An AN-32 transport aircraft met with an accident at the Jorhat Air Force Station in Assam. More details are awaited."

The accident reportedly took place when the aircraft was attempting to land at the Jorhat airfield.

Emergency response teams were immediately mobilised following the crash, and rescue and firefighting operations are currently underway. (ANI)