Five Indian Air Force personnel were killed on June 13 after an Antonov An-32 transport aircraft crashed during a routine flight in the northeastern state of Assam.
According to the Indian Air Force (IAF), the twin-engine aircraft was involved in an accident near Jorhat while conducting a routine sortie. The service said an investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the crash.
“The Indian Air Force deeply regrets the loss of five personnel in the An-32 accident at Jorhat, Assam,” the service said in a statement.
The victims were identified as Squadron Leader Prashant Singh, Flight Lieutenant Shubham Kumar, Sergeant Jitendra Sharma, Agniveervayu Khemaram Kumawat and Agniveervayu Danish Alam.
Television footage from the crash site showed wreckage scattered across the ground and a large plume of black smoke rising from the impact area.
The An-32 has been a key element of India’s military transport fleet since the 1980s. Developed by the Soviet-era Antonov Design Bureau, the aircraft was adapted for operations in hot climates and high-altitude environments, allowing it to support military bases and outposts in regions such as Ladakh and the Himalayas.
The Indian Air Force still operates more than 100 An-32 aircraft, although the fleet is gradually being replaced under a modernization program.
India signed a contract in 2021 for 56 Airbus C295 tactical transport aircraft. Sixteen aircraft are being delivered directly from Airbus’ production line in Spain, while the remaining 40 are scheduled to be assembled in India by Tata Advanced Systems under a partnership with Airbus.
The first locally assembled C295 recently completed its maiden flight from the final assembly line in Vadodara, with deliveries to the Indian Air Force expected to begin this year.
The Assam accident is the third major An-32 loss involving the Indian Air Force in the past decade. In July 2016, an An-32 carrying 29 people disappeared over the Bay of Bengal while flying from Chennai to Port Blair. Its wreckage was located nearly five years later.
Another An-32 crashed in Arunachal Pradesh in June 2019 after losing contact with air traffic control during a flight near the border with China, killing all 13 people on board.
