Pakistan Navy P-3C Orion crashed
Marco P.J. Borst
(http://dawn.com/daily/text/index.htm), a English langauge newspaper in
Pakistan. It confirms that the pakistan Navy P-3C-IIž Orions are not
operated by 29 Squadron (as thought until now) but by 28 Squadron. The
article also confirms that the lost aircraft had serial number 83 (c/n 5827,
BuNo 164469 and former serial number 27).
Regards,
Marco P.J. Borst
21 feared dead in Navy aircraft crash
By Our Reporter
KARACHI, Oct 29: A P-3C Orion reconnaissance aircraft of Pakistan Navy
crashed on Friday morning off the Mekran coast during a "routine exercise".
Twenty-one naval personnel on board the aircraft were feared dead.
The aircraft crashed about 195 nautical miles west of Karachi, near Pasni,
around 9am, said the sources. Pakistan Navy helicopters located the wreckage
of the aircraft floating in the sea in the afternoon, they said.
According to a spokesman of the Naval Headquarters, there were 21 persons on
board the aircraft, including 10 officers and 11 CPO sailors. Search for
survivors, if any, was underway, he said.
An official statement issued by the Naval Headquarters said the aircraft of
the Pakistan Navy, while on a "routine exercise" at sea near Mekran coast,
in which Pakistan Navy ships, submarines and aircraft were participating,
was "lost at sea this forenoon."
The cause of crash was not yet determined and the authorities have ordered
an inquiry to determine the cause and fix responsibility for the crash. The
authorities did not give names of the persons who were on board the aircraft
on the plea that search operation was still under way.
The aircraft, one of the three in the PN fleet, had taken off from PNS
Mehran air base, Karachi, in the morning.
According to sources, radio contact with the aircraft was lost after a few
hours and after waiting for about two hours for the aircraft to return to
the base, search operation was mounted.
The US-made P-3C was the second reconnaissance aircraft of the Pakistan Navy
which was lost this year.
On August 10 a French-made 'Atlantique' reconnaissance aircraft of the PN
was shot down by Indian jets near Badin, killing all 16 persons on board.
The incident in the aftermath of Kargil stand-off increased the tension
between the two countries, but international pressure for mutual restraint
saved the situation. Pakistan had decided to seek compensation from India
for the downing of the aircraft and killing of the naval personnel.
NNI ADDS: Following are the names of some of the officers and sailors who
were on board the P-3C aircraft when it crashed in the coastal area near
Pasni.
The aircraft, bearing serial number 83, was under command of 28 Squadron
P-3C Officer Commander Khawar. Others on board included Officer Commanding
Shaharyar, Lt Commander Imran Tahir, Lt Waheed, MCPO Fazal Mir, MCPO
Sarfraz, PO Nadeem, Sher Zaman and Syed Rahman.
The latest reports say only one body has been recovered.
visit the website of the P-3 Orion Research Group at
http://home.wxs.nl/~p3orion
Marco P.J. Borst / Leiderdorp - The Netherlands
ICQ number 14967592
A Morgan
(3?), and how long they have been operating. They only got them fairly
recently, didn't they? Were they second hand USN?
Thanks in Advance
Cheers
Marco P.J. Borst <p3o...@wxs.nl> wrote in article
<7vf3s4$7ci$1...@reader1.wxs.nl>...
> The following article was taken from "DAWN"
> (http://dawn.com/daily/text/index.htm), a English langauge newspaper in
> Pakistan. It confirms that the pakistan Navy P-3C-IIž Orions are not
> operated by 29 Squadron (as thought until now) but by 28 Squadron. The
> article also confirms that the lost aircraft had serial number 83 (c/n
5827,
> BuNo 164469 and former serial number 27).
[snip]
