Debris of missing CG Dornier located in Tamil Nadu sea waters

Fate of aircraft and crew members yet to be known

After a little more than a month of intensive search, the debris of the missing Coast Guard Dornier aircraft and its Flight Data Recorder were located today off Tamil Nadu coastline, a top official said.

However, still the aircraft and fate of the three young crew still now known.

The vital flight data recorder and one line replacement unit of the ill-fated aircraft has been recovered. The flight data recorder could provide vital inputs towards establishing the cause of the incident, according to an official statement.

Indian Naval Submarine Sindhudhavaj, whilst on redeployment for locating the missing aircraft, picked up a barrage of transmissions in a depth of 996 meters on July 6. This information was vital source for deployment of the Reliance Vessel to localise the search.

Consequently, the unrelenting and uninterrupted search which, included 693 hours of surface effort and 196 hours of air effort have yielded some results. The Multifunctional Support Vessel of Reliance India with integrated Remotely Operated Vehicle was able to locate and recover the Flight Data Recorder and one Line Replacement Unit from a depth of 950 meters.

The Dornier aircraft with three crew members -- all in their 30s -- went missing on June 8 night while returning to the base after a regular surveillance sortie along the Tamil Nadu coast and Palk Bay