IAF620

As many as 39 military aircraft crashes—including trainer aircraft and helicopters— were reported over the last three years, killing 36 defence personnel, according to data released by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) on February 26, 2016.

An advanced jet trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in West Bengal on August 4, 2016, and both pilots ejected safely.

An IAF AN-32 plane carrying 29 people went missing after it took off from Chennai on July 22, 2016. Media reports suggest that the aircraft was not fitted with an underwater locator beacon, and that made search operations difficult.

Of the three defence services, the IAF reported most crashes (28) , followed by the army (7) and the navy (4) over the past three years.

“No civilians were killed in these crashes,” the Lok Sabha reply said.

Aircraft Crashes Over 3 Years

VizCrash620

Source: LokSabha

As many as 15 AN-32 aircraft of the IAF crashed between 1986 and 2014, (the year of one crash was unknown), according to Aviation Safety Network data, an online portal that tracks airliner accidents world-wide.

The Russian-made AN-32 plane is a medium tactical transport aircraft that can carry 39 troops and five crew.

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(Mallapur is an analyst with IndiaSpend.)

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Chaitanya Mallapur

    Chaitanya has a masters degree in politics from the University of Mumbai and a bachelor's degree in computer science. His areas of interest are foreign policy and security studies. He has also worked with ET NOW, a business news channel, as an assistant producer in the digital team.