Jorhat

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has ordered a Court of Inquiry to determine the cause of the crash involving an AN-32 transport aircraft at the Jorhat Air Force Station in Assam on Saturday.

The inquiry has been constituted following the accident, which occurred while the aircraft was attempting to land at the airbase.

In a post on X, the IAF said, "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 extensively used by the Indian Air Force for logistics operations, cargo transportation and operational support missions across varied terrains, including remote and high-altitude regions.

Commenting on the incident, former Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Flight Operations Inspector Prashant Dhalla described the crash as unfortunate and said several 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 Jorhat Air Force Station base," Dhalla told ANI.

"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 Jorhat. It can be a case of spatial disorientation, a technical error, a weather-related phenomenon which has led to this catastrophic accident," he added.

Earlier in the day, the IAF had confirmed that an AN-32 transport aircraft met with an accident at the Jorhat Air Force Station.

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

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

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Emergency response teams were immediately mobilised after the crash, and rescue and firefighting operations are underway. The IAF is yet to provide details regarding casualties or the number of personnel on board at the time of the accident.