The Indian Navy resumed its search efforts on Friday for the missing trainer aircraft that disappeared after taking off from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, on August 20. The operation, which had been suspended at 6 pm on Thursday due to adverse weather conditions, continues with the aid of a 19-member team from Visakhapatnam, dispatched in response to a request from the Seraikela-Kharswan district administration.
The missing aircraft, a Cessna 152 owned by a private aviation company, was reported to have gone down in the Chandil dam. The bodies of the two individuals on board—trainee pilot Shubhrodeep Dutta and his instructor, Captain Jeet Satru Anand—were recovered from the reservoir on Thursday.
“The search operation was briefly halted yesterday due to inclement weather, but we have resumed our efforts today with the Indian Navy’s assistance,” an official stated. The team is now focused on locating the exact position of the aircraft using advanced Sonic Navigation and Ranging technology.
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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), along with the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, Directorate of Flying Training, and Directorate of Airworthiness, has launched an investigation into the crash. Preliminary findings have yet to be released.
What happened?
According to a statement from Alchemist Aviation, the company that owns the aircraft registered as VT-TAJ, it is premature to determine the cause of the crash. The aircraft was reported to have 80 liters of fuel, providing a flying time of 4 hours and 30 minutes, while the planned flight duration was 1 hour.
The aircraft lost contact with the Jamshedpur Air Traffic Control Tower around 11:10 am on Tuesday. The plane was equipped with an engine from the original equipment manufacturer and had a valid airworthiness certificate issued by the DGCA.
Initially, local authorities and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were involved in the search operations before the Indian Navy took over. The Navy’s deployment of specialized equipment aims to pinpoint the aircraft’s location and provide further insights into the incident.