New Delhi: In a tragic incident, Indian Air Force’s new C-130J Super Hercules transport plane configured for special operations and airborne assault – on Friday crashed near Gwalior, killing all five crew members. The IAF has ordered court of inquiry into the crash.
One C-130J aircraft crashed 72 miles (115 km) west of Gwalior air base. The aircraft was airborne from Agra at 1000 hours for a routine flying training mission. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate into the cause of the accident,” an IAF spokesperson said here.
India had recently inducted six C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, which were bought from the US at the cost of around Rs 6,000 crore (USD 1.1 billion) four years ago. The incident is shocking since the plane, known as the safest aircraft, has capabilities of landing and taking off even in improvised or short airfields, and without lights.
The home base of the 77 squadron ‘Veiled Vipers’ operating the aircraft is Hindan in Ghaziabad near here. India had recently deployed a C-130J Super Hercules of the Indian Air Force in Kuala Lumpur to take part in the international search for the missing Malaysian airline in the South Indian Ocean region.
The aircraft was recently landed on the Daulat Beg Oldie air field near China border and have helped in boosting IAF’s capability to airlift troops closer to the borders in times of emergency.
Bureau Report
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