Indian Coast Guard

Dornier DO228

The crew departed Chennai NAS at 1730LT on a maritime patrol flight along the Tamil Nadu coast and over the Palk Bay. The last radio contact was established at 2100LT and the last radar contact was observed at 2123LT while the aircraft was cruising at an altitude of 9,000 feet some 176 km offshore. SAR operations were initiated and some debris were found the following morning. All three occupants, two pilots and one observer, were killed. On July 10, the wreckage was found at a depth of 995 metres some 30 km off Pichavaram.

Dornier DO228

While cruising in good weather conditions, the aircraft went out of control and crashed in the Bay of Bengal, off Paradip. Two passengers were rescued while all four other occupants were killed.