The ‘belly landing' incident's Court of Inquiry was done by Air Commodore GS Brar (retd)(Representative Image)On April 17, 1987, an AN-32 aircraft took off from Jorhat Air Force Station for a supply mission to Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground (ALG). The aircraft duly completed its mission but also created history when it made a ‘belly landing' because the landing gear had not been lowered.
IAF flying veterans say the incident illustrates that the treacherous flying conditions in the North East can so engage the attention of an aircraft crew that even the most obvious task could slip out of the mind as the pilots wrestle to complete their mission. The ‘belly landing' incident's Court of Inquiry was done by Air Commodore GS Brar (retd), now settled in Panchkula, who was the first CO of the AN-32 Squadron in the North East. As commanding officer, he converted 43 Squadron from Dakotas to AN-32 in 1986 in Jorhat.
The aircraft in question belonged to the 49 Squadron, also located in Jorhat. Another veteran IAF officer who was familiar with the incident, but did not want to be named, said that the ALG at Mechuka had undergone repairs and that the sortie had been undertaken to see if it was good enough to conduct a landing.
“The AN-32 carried supplies which had to be para-dropped just ahead of Mechuka and a senior officer of the Jorhat Air Force Wing was the pilot in command. After the drop, the officer directed the co-pilot to conduct a landing…
