A Dornier aircraft of the Indian Navy on a routine night training sortie ditched in the sea about 20 nautical miles South West of Goa. The Naval Air Station at Goa lost radar contact with the aircraft at 10:08 PM on 24 Mar 15. The aircraft is feared to have ditched soon thereafter.
The crew on board the aircraft comprised three officers (two Pilots and one woman Observer).
One of them, Commander Nikhil Kuldip Joshi, was picked up by a passing fishing boat (Niharika – from a fishing hamlet off Karwar) and transferred to a naval Fast Interceptor Craft. He is presently in naval hospital ‘Patanjali’ at Karwar and is reported to be stable.
The other two officers pilot Abhinav Nagori and his observer are still missing.
Eight Naval ships and four aircraft were immediately deployed to locate them.
Presently, 12 ships (including two ships from Coast Guard) and four aircraft involved in the SAR operations. Their next of kin have been informed. Meanwhile, a Board of Inquiry has been ordered to establish the cause of the accident.
A Board of Inquiry has been ordered to establish the cause of the accident.
Meanwhile Admiral RK Dhawan, Chief of the Naval Staff, flew down to Goa and took stock of the SAR operation. He also met the families of the missing aircrew and Cdr Joshi before returning to Delhi in the evening.
