Intermittent transmission detected

The Coast Guard’s CG-791 Dornier aircraft, which went missing on June 8 in Chennai, apparently met with an accident due to some “technical error”.

The revelation came after INS Sandhyak, undertaking sub-surface search, detected intermittent transmission of 37.5 kilohertz, likely to be from the Sonar Locator Beacon (SLB) of the missing aircraft. The transmission is around the position where the Air Traffic Control (ATC) radar had lost contact with the aircraft. “Submarine INS Sindhudhvaj is likely to arrive in the area late on Saturday evening for further augmentation of sub-surface search. More tests are being done to get into the location of the missing aircraft more precisely,” Coast Guard (East) Commander, Inspector General S P Sharma told Millennium Post.

On June 10, The Coast Guard has ordered a “Board of Inquiry” after the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) fitted in the missing Dornier aircraft is “mysteriously” not giving any signals. But now when the intermittent transmission from the aircraft was detected, it is expected that the plane will be located soon.

“A multi-coloured sheen of oil in concentric circles was sighted which indicated oozing of oil. The sample of oil has been sent to the laboratory for analysis. National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) has diverted its research vessel Sagar Nidhi and is likely to arrive in the area for augmenting underwater search by June 14,” a statement issued by the Coast Guard reads.

Also, Reliance India Limited has been approached to extend services of its Multi Support Vessel (MSV) with Remotely Operable Underwater Vehicle (ROV) for underwater operations. A total of 10 Coast Guard and Indian Navy ships with two aircraft are undertaking the search for the missing aircraft till now.

The aircraft took off from Chennai on June 8 to monitor the Tamil Nadu coast and the Palk Bay. It was last tracked 16 km off the coast of Chidambaram, about 200 km south of Chennai, by the airport radar in Tiruchirapalli. The aircraft was carrying three crew members including Pilot Deputy Commandant Vidya Sagar, co-pilot Deputy Commandant M K Soni and navigator Subash Suresh.

An advisory to fishermen, merchant ships, Coastal Security Group of the Tamil Nadu Police has also been issued to report for sighting of the missing aircraft. The Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau has activated their information to sensitise the locals.