The AN-32 lost contact a little over half an hour after it took off from Jorhat in Assam shortly after noon for the Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground in Shi-Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh.
Eight days after the disappearance of a Soviet-era IAF plane carrying 13 people triggered a massive coordinated search operation, its debris of the Antonov AN-32 military transport craft was traced in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday.
"The wreckage of the aircraft was spotted 16 kilometres north of Lipo, north-east of Tato, at an approximate elevation of 12,000 feet by the IAF Mi-17 helicopter undertaking search in the expanded search zone," the Indian Air Force stated.
The force said efforts are under way to establish if there are any survivors. There were eight crew members and five passengers onboard when the plane dropped off the radar.
"There was a meeting of Indian Air Force, Army and local administration officials to figure out how to reach the very remote, wooded site, which can only be accessed by trekking," said an IAF officer.
A massive operation was launched to locate the missing twin-engine turboprop craft, which had lost contact with ground control on June 3. The ISRO's radar imaging satellite and the Navy's long-range surveillance aircraft P8i were deployed for the search mission, apart from other sophisticated technology.
The AN-32 lost contact a little over half an hour after it took off from Jorhat in Assam shortly after noon for the Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground in Shi-Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh.
Bad weather stalled aerial search operations for three days last week, but ground operations continued in the mountainous area.
On June 9, the Indian Air Force has also announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for any information about the whereabouts of the aircraft.
Family members of the missing personnel have been put up in Assam so they can be kept informed of the search mission. Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa, who has also stationed himself at Assam's Jorhat air base to review the operation, interacted with the families of the officers and airmen onboard the aircraft.
The IAF has over 100 AN-32s that play a critical role in equipping front line forces. India was the launch customer for the AN-32, which was bought from the former Soviet Union and built in Ukraine.
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