The AN-32 had lost radar contact in an area between Tato, Payum and Along (also known as Aalo) in the afternoon of June 3

NEW DELHI: An investigation into the crash of an Indian Air Force AN-32 transport aircraft in Arunachal Pradesh in June that killed 13 people on-board, was because it entered the wrong valley due to a ‘navigational error’ in bad weather and the crew was unable to fly it out of there due to poor visibility.

The developments were shared by the Standing Committee on Defence in one of its reports presented to the Lok Sabha Speaker on Friday. The Committee stated that it had wished to learn about the findings of the court of inquiry on the June 3 crash of the AN-32. It was informed that the inquiry team has completed its investigation into the crash. One of the reasons was, “the aircraft entered the wrong valley due to navigational error in bad weather”.

The other reason was, “the crew was unable to fly the aircraft safely out of the blind valley due to poor visibility and clouding”.

The AN-32 had lost radar contact in an area between Tato, Payum and Along (also known as Aalo) in the afternoon of June 3. On that day, the aircraft had got airborne from the Jorhat Air Force Station in Assam at 12.27 pm and was to land at the Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground in Arunachal Pradesh at 1.25 pm, but didn’t contact ground agencies after 1 pm. There were 13 IAF personnel on board, including eight crew members, comprising six officers, besides five passengers.

The IAF put its back into the search for the aircraft, using its C-130s and helicopters, and even took the help of the army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and local population. Eight days after it went missing, the wreckage of the AN-32 was found in Arunachal’s West Siang district on June 11. It bore an eerie resemblance to a 2009 crash of another IAF AN-32 in the state’s Tato area.

The Committee pointed out that during a study visit to the North-East in November, it was brought to its notice that the majority of the aircraft with the IAF are getting old, which also leads to accidents and loss of pilots. “Most of the accidents are due to technical error,” it said.