AN 32 flight could have gone missing due to cumulonimbus cloud
Posted on: 02/Aug/2016 12:44:52 PM
An air force officer who have travelled frequently by the AN 32 missing flight has mentioned that the reason for the plane missing could be due to cumulonimbus cloud.
An Indian Air Force (IAF) AN-32 transport plane carrying 29 people, mostly military personnel, to Port Blair is missing after it took off. The following search was made: 106 sorties flown for over 483 hours, nine ships in the search area, aerial search over 360 nautical miles by 300nm and surface search over 120 nm by 120nm. Nothing was traced till now. Now the surface search has been stopped. There is a doubt that whether it could be traced in deep seas.
National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) research vessel, Sagar Nidhi has been called for scanning the sea bed. Oceanographic research vessel Samudra Ratnakar for sub-surface search has also been pressed into service.
At this juncture an air force officer who had frequently travelled in the missing flight has mentioned: I have travelled many times in the flight connected with my work. This aircraft will be used to carry military goods. There will be benches on the two sides. We will be sitting in these benches by holding on to the ropes. We will feel safe once we enter the plane. It is such a good plane. This plane played a vital role in the 2004 Tsunami. This plane frequently flied between Kovai-Tambaram-Andamans. Since the plane will be carrying heavy loads, the speed of the plane will be slow. Normally before operating a military plane, it will undergo various tests. That also the plane will be travelling 720 nautical miles over the sea from Chennai to Andamans. Even if the plane develops a snag, it cannot be grounded anywhere. Because of this, there will be severe tests before it takes off.
The missing AN-32 aircraft, which had flown multiple times over the Bay of Bengal carrying military personnel and equipment, did not have an underwater locator system, making it difficult for rescuers to pinpoint the position of the plane which went down over the sea with 29 people on board. So far the search did not yield any positive results. Those who have travelled by planes could have seen the clouds but all the clouds are not the same. Sometimes there will be Cumulonimbus clouds. Cumulonimbus Clouds are the most hazardous clouds a plane can get in. These are clouds that can build up anywhere from the surface all the way to the tropopause at times. They are practically, towering cumulus where the top turns into an ice cloud or Anvil which is extended in the wind direction.
These clouds are very turbulent, rich with precipitation and humidity, and can extend to altitudes where temperatures are low. Hence there is a doubt whether the plane has got into Cumulonimbus which could have turned out to be a fatal.
