ill-fated AN-32

IAF, Navy and Coast Guard launch massive search operation for missing AN-32

NEW DELHI: The, which went missing with 29 personnel on board over the Bay of Bengal on Friday, had suffered from three technical snags earlier this month despite undergoing a life-extension, overhaul and upgrade refit just as recently as September last year.Officials, however, contended the snags were "minor in nature like a little hydraulic or pressure leak here and there", and no aircraft was ever cleared to fly without being it declared fully airworthy. But the twin-turboprop AN-32 fleet — the workhorse of the IAF to ferry troops and supplies to forward areas — has suffered from poor serviceability, tardy maintenance, delays in overhauls and shortage of spares, all resulting in a high AOG (aircraft on ground) percentage over the years.Part of the 33 Squadron located at the Sulur airbase, the missing AN-32 was among the around 50 such medium-lift tactical aircraft upgraded with airframe strengthening and newer avionics till now under the $398 million (Rs 1965 crore) contract inked with Ukraine in June 2009.Of the 101 AN-32s in the IAF fleet, which were inducted the erstwhile Soviet Union from 1984 to 1991, the first 40 aircraft were "re-equipped" in Ukraine, while the rest 61 are progressively undergoing the same at the 1 Base Repair Depot at Kanpur."Apart from airframe strengthening to increase their operational life from the earlier 25 years to 40, the upgraded AN-32s are being fitted with enhanced ground-warning systems, new weather radars, advanced GPS, multi-functional displays and the like," said an officer.This had become critical since the operational life of over 70% of the AN-32s in IAF was slated to expire between 2009 and 2012. The total technical life of an AN-32 is 20,000 flying hours or 25 years, with 15,000 landings.Incidentally, India was to develop a multi-role transport aircraft (MTA) with Russia to gradually replace the ageing AN-32s. The two countries had even inked an inter-governmental agreement for co-development and co-production of the MTA, which was to be designed to carry 18-20 tonne, way back in 2007.But the plan has now been virtually junked since there were huge question marks over the MTA’s cost-viability, timelines for delivery as well as its failure to meet the high-altitude requirements. Under the initial proposal, Russia was to get 100 planes and India 45, while another 60 were to be sold to other countries.