1968 Indian Air Force An-12 crash

On 7 February 1968, an Antonov An-12 turboprop transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force piloted by Flight Lieutenant Harkewal Singh and Squadron Leader Pran Nath Malhotra,[3][4][5] disappeared while flying to Leh Airport from Chandigarh.[2] Flight 203 was on approach to Leh when the pilot decided to turn back due to inclement weather,[1] the aircraft then went missing with the last radio contact over the Rohtang pass. It was declared missing after the failure to find the wreck.

Indian Air Force Flight 203
An Indian Air Force Antonov An-12, similar to the crashed aircraft.
Occurrence
Date7 February 1968 (1968-02-07)
SummaryMissing from 1968 till discovery of mortal remains of one of the victims in 2003
Crashed[1]
SiteDhaka Glacier, India
Aircraft
Aircraft typeAntonov An-12
OperatorIndian Air Force
RegistrationBL534
Flight originChandigarh International Airport, Chandigarh[1]
DestinationLeh Airport, Jammu and Kashmir[1]
Passengers98
Crew4
Fatalities102 [1]
Missing98, 4 remains recovered[2]
Survivors0

Recovery

In 2003 members of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute who were trekking on the South Dakka Glacier came across the remains of a human body.[2][3] The body was identified as Sepoy Beli Ram, a soldier of the Indian Army who was on the flight.[6]

On 9 August 2007 an Indian Army expedition code named Operation Punaruthan-III,[7] recovered three more bodies.[8]

From 2003 till 2009 three search expeditions have been carried out with the recovery of four bodies.[2] The crash location lies at a height of about 18,000 feet (5,500 m), at a gradient of 80 degrees.

On 21 July 2018 the Times of India reported that a mountaineering team at the Chandrabhaga-13 peak had found a body at the Dhaka glacier base camp.[9] The team found wreckage of the plane along with the remains of a soldier on 11 July 2018.[9][10] The team leader mentioned that the expedition was on a mission to clear up the trash left behind by climbers, and that it was organised by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation and the ONGC.[10]

On 18 August 2019, after 13 days of search and recovery operation, a joint team of Indian army and Indian air force recovered several parts of the aircraft like the aero engine, fuselage, electric circuits, propeller, fuel tank unit, air brake assembly and a cockpit door.[11]

See also

References
  1. AN-12 Accident description Aviation Safety Network 31 October 2017
  2. 1968 IAF transport aircraft crash: Mortal remains of victim recovered News 18 31 October 2017
  3. Missing An-12 Mystery Solved after 33 Years Archived 2017-11-07 at the Wayback Machine War Birds of India 1 September 2003
  4. Flight Lieutenant Harkewal Singh Bharat-Rakshak.com 3 October 2018
  5. Squadron Leader Pran Nath Malhotra Bharat-Rakshak.com 3 October 2018
  6. A wish realised after 35 years The Tribune August 5 2003
  7. Frozen IAF mystery melts Archived 2017-11-07 at the Wayback Machine The Telegraph 10 August 2007
  8. ID-card may reveal mystery of crashed AN-12 aircraft Sify News 1 August 2012
  9. Climbers find body of soldier killed in 1968 plane crash Times of India 21 July 2018
  10. Mountaineering team stumbles upon 50-yr-old wreckage of IAF plane The Hindu 21 July 2018
  11. "IAF aircraft parts recovered 51 years after crash". 2019-08-18.

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