PUNE: A day after the Indian Air Force (IAF) located the wreckage of a transport aircraft AN-32 at a depth of approximately 3.4 km in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Chennai, the parents of Flight Lieutenant Kunal Barpatte, who was among the 29 people on board, demanded a thorough investigation of the incident and images of the found remnants of the aircraft.
Rajendra (66), the father of Kunal, told TOI, “Even after the recovery of wreckage of the aircraft well after seven years, certain questions still disturb us immensely. One of them is what went wrong with the aircraft. The Ministry of Defence or IAF should reveal its report to the public.”
“We will come to know whether there was an issue with the aircraft or it was human error that resulted in the unfortunate incident. I think it is the least minimum expectation any parents of the officer would anticipate from the government and force,” he added.
Rajendra also felt that the government could have traced the aircraft had it roped in advanced equipment in 2016.
“It was an accident finding. Had the government roped in such advanced equipment as automatic underwater equipment (AUV), they might have discovered the plane and possibly the bodies of the personnel on board. But it did not show this intention then. Instead, it kept telling us that they were still ‘searching the plane’ but it was never the case,” said Rajendra, who retired as a scientist from the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) in Pune.
The navigation officer Flight Lietuenant (27) was from the Nigdi area of Pimpri Chinchwad. He was the flight navigator of the missing aircraft that went missing on July 22, 2016.
He was posted with the 33 Squadron of the IAF at Sulur, which is a transport squadron under the Southern Air Command, in Tamil Nadu.
It has been a tough emotional year for the parents, especially Kunal’s mother Vidya (60) as she still believed that her son would return.
“I know the reality of life. I have accepted it. But she has yet to accept the hard fact of life. What to do? I tried to convince and console her all these years. But she ignored me. But these images of the aircraft will stamp the fact finally for me and her also,” said emotional Rajendra.
Rajendra said that they did not open the trunk, boxes and household items of Kunal that they got from the IAF authorities after the incident all these years.
“My wife Vidya did not allow me to open the boxes as she wants to keep it as it is in Kunal’s memory. That is the level of emotion she has been in all these years. We have lived the most difficult seven years so far,” said Rajendra.
Rajendra and Vidya attended the 60th anniversary of the air base in Sulur last year.
He said, “It was an emotional event for both of us. Seeing the air base, and aircraft and meeting air officers at the station where my son spent valuable time of his life. We felt being with him and his loved company at the base.”
Rajendra (66), the father of Kunal, told TOI, “Even after the recovery of wreckage of the aircraft well after seven years, certain questions still disturb us immensely. One of them is what went wrong with the aircraft. The Ministry of Defence or IAF should reveal its report to the public.”
“We will come to know whether there was an issue with the aircraft or it was human error that resulted in the unfortunate incident. I think it is the least minimum expectation any parents of the officer would anticipate from the government and force,” he added.
Rajendra also felt that the government could have traced the aircraft had it roped in advanced equipment in 2016.
“It was an accident finding. Had the government roped in such advanced equipment as automatic underwater equipment (AUV), they might have discovered the plane and possibly the bodies of the personnel on board. But it did not show this intention then. Instead, it kept telling us that they were still ‘searching the plane’ but it was never the case,” said Rajendra, who retired as a scientist from the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) in Pune.
The navigation officer Flight Lietuenant (27) was from the Nigdi area of Pimpri Chinchwad. He was the flight navigator of the missing aircraft that went missing on July 22, 2016.
He was posted with the 33 Squadron of the IAF at Sulur, which is a transport squadron under the Southern Air Command, in Tamil Nadu.
It has been a tough emotional year for the parents, especially Kunal’s mother Vidya (60) as she still believed that her son would return.
“I know the reality of life. I have accepted it. But she has yet to accept the hard fact of life. What to do? I tried to convince and console her all these years. But she ignored me. But these images of the aircraft will stamp the fact finally for me and her also,” said emotional Rajendra.
Rajendra said that they did not open the trunk, boxes and household items of Kunal that they got from the IAF authorities after the incident all these years.
“My wife Vidya did not allow me to open the boxes as she wants to keep it as it is in Kunal’s memory. That is the level of emotion she has been in all these years. We have lived the most difficult seven years so far,” said Rajendra.
Rajendra and Vidya attended the 60th anniversary of the air base in Sulur last year.
He said, “It was an emotional event for both of us. Seeing the air base, and aircraft and meeting air officers at the station where my son spent valuable time of his life. We felt being with him and his loved company at the base.”
