New Delhi, 13 June  

Five Indian Air Force personnel, including two officers, were killed when their Russian-origin Antonov AN-32 transport aircraft crashed while landing at Jorhat in Assam on Saturday.

The co-pilot of the aircraft has sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment at a military hospital in Jorhat, sources said. Six personnel were onboard the plane.

The aircraft met with the accident during a routine sortie at approximately 10am, according to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The deceased personnel are: Squadron Leader Prashant Singh, Flight Lieutenant Shubham Kumar, Sergeant Jitendra Sharma, Agniveervayu Khemaram Kumawat and Agniveervayu Danish Alam.

A court of inquiry has been constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident. "The Indian Air Force deeply regrets the loss of five personnel in the An-32 accident at Jorhat, Assam," the force said in a statement. "Sqn Ldr Prashant Singh, Flt Lt Shubham Kumar, Sgt Jitendra Sharma, Agniveervayu Khemaram Kumawat and Agniveervayu Danish Alam made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty," it said.

The IAF extended its deepest condolences to the bereaved families and said it "stands firmly" with them in this hour of grief.

The sources said the aircraft lost control upon touchdown and skidded off the runway. It hurtled across the parallel taxiway, snapping into two segments before being engulfed in flames, they added. The AN-32 is a Soviet-designed twin-engine turboprop transport aircraft.

The AN-32 planes have been serving the IAF as a reliable workhorse for decades ferrying personnel and air-dropping vital supplies into some of the world's most demanding terrain. The fleet has undergone multiple rounds of upgrades to extend its operational life.

The IAF has been looking at replacing the ageing fleet of the transport aircraft. In 2022, the IAF issued a Request for Information (RFI) to purchase medium transport aircraft (MTA) to replace its aging fleet of the AN-32 and IL-76 planes.