The mission started in the midnight hours of 3-4 May in when IAF’s military transport aircraft C-17 Globemaster aircraft took off from the Hindan Air Force base.
[Photo : ANI]
In a daring act as part of ”Operation Kaveri” in Sudan, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has carried out a tactical rescue mission to bring back 192 Indians from the strife-torn nation.
The mission started in the midnight hours of 3-4 May in when IAF’s military transport aircraft C-17 Globemaster aircraft took off from the Hindan Air Force base. The aircraft flew non-stop from Hindon all the way to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. In Jeddah, the plane stopped over for refueling before it took off again straight to Sudan and from there back to India.
To avoid a situation of non-availability of fuel and refueling delays in Sudan, the C-17 took excess fuel from Jeddah.
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The mission was one of a kind, with the aircraft carrying passengers, mostly ladies, children and elderly persons, who were NRIs, foreign nationals, or OCIs (Overseas Citizens of India). These people could not be taken to Jeddah and hence were required to be flown directly to India in a nonstop flight by the heavy jet.
At Sudan, the aircraft carried out an overhead steep tactical arrival followed by an assault approach to land the heavy jet. During the entire duration of the ground operations, the aircraft engines were kept running in readiness for a quick exit from the airfield, in case of such a need arose.
The crew encountered another unplanned emergency when one of the passengers became unconscious during the flight. This situation was immediately and proficiently handled by the crew who administered 100 per cent Oxygen to stabilise him.
The aircraft landed at Ahmedabad late in the evening on 4 May and then at the home base of Hindan late in the night on the same day. The crew thus flew through extended duty periods of nearly 24 hrs to get some of the last stranded countrymen back to India.
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