Sorties after sorties

WEDNESDAY

1.10 pm:

Andhra Pradesh government approaches defence ministry, Air Force alerted to carry out special sorties


1.40 pm:

Two Chetaks flown from Hakimpet airbase to Kurnool


2 pm:

One MI-8 flown from Yalahanka airbase. Both Chetaks and MI-8 choppers are equipped with emergency facilities to rescue survivors and meant for search and rescue operations


3.30 pm:

Another Advanced Light Helicopter was flown from Yalahanka for mapping the area


4.30 pm:

Dornier was launched from Yalahanka for picking up ALT signals from the ill-fated chopper


5 pm:

An Avro aircraft was launched from Hyderabad for Kurnool for again picking up signals of the ill-fated chopper


Flight path:

The IAF search team took Yalahanka-Kadappa-Srisalem-Chittoor-Yalahanka as flight path

6 pm:

Based on initial inputs and details provided by state officials, search was narrowed down to 200 sq km. However, nothing came out of the investigation. Dornier failed to detect any signal from the ill-fated chopper


Air Force

sets up Operations room at Kurnool airbase to analyse images and observations sent by choppers and aircraft making sorties of the nearly 10,000 square km area with air Commodore Bharti as its head

6.30 pm:

AF team at Kurnool Operations room decides to analyse last tower signals received by mobile phones carried by victims. At this point it was decided to upgrade the search equivalent to the one IAF normally carries for an air crash. Deployment of Sukhoi 30 follows to map the area

8.30 pm:

Two Su-30 MKI flown from Bareilly, both conducts four-hour sorties

THURSDAY

2 am:

Another Su-30 flown at 2 am after previous two lands. IL-78 too launched to refuel the fighter which flew continuously till 6 am gather-ing images of the target area. Su-30 had thrown lots of data which were continuously being analysed at the emergency operations room at Kurnool

6 am:

Su-30 asked to land and Chetak and MI-8 pressed into service

8.30 am:

First wreckage sighted by Chetak crew. Commandos flying on MI-8 air dropped on the wreckage site which was 15 (4714) degree North Latitude and 78 (4263) East Longitude on a hill

9.20 am:

After wreckage was spotted, an MI-8 helicopter flying nearby was alerted and brought on the spot where two police commandos were airdropped

9.30 am:

Three more commandos airdropped by an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH)

10 am:

All the five commandos started identifying the wreckage and by 10.45 am all five bodies located

10.45 am:

Bodies put in bags and airlifted by choppers and flown to Kurnool airbase