Missing IAF Plane Has Outdated SOS System
The Russian An-32 IAF Plane that has gone missing, had a 15 year old system for search and rescue. It had 13 people onboard before it went missing.
An Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Russian aircraft An-32 took off from Jorhat Air Base in Assam at 12:25pm. The plane was heading for the Air Force base in Arunachal Pradesh before it lost contact with ground control at 1:00pm. The plane is feared to have crash landed with 13 people onboard.
The plane was fitted with an Emergency Locator Transmitter(ELT) called a SARBE 8. This was made by a British company called Signature Industries. The system is supposed to activate automatically after a crash. However no signal can be detected by the search and rescue team. The SARBE 8 is supposed to send signals to satellites that are controlled by Cospas-Sarsat a group of satellites used by search and rescue teams all over the world.
The device installed in the plane was manufactured 15 years ago. The company at that time said that service and support would still be provided but the satellites would stop working after 2009.Tthe Indian Navy have sent planes to help the search mission using their latest P-8 Reconnaissance plane, with powerful radar and infrared sensors. Families of the crew members are very worried. Defence Minister has assured the families that they will work hard to rescue missing crew.
