What happened
A maritime patrol mission departed from Chennai NAS at 17:30 local time, intended to monitor the Tamil Nadu coastline and the waters of Palk Bay. The flight proceeded normally until 21:00 local time, which marked the final radio communication received from the aircraft. Shortly thereafter, at 21:23 local time, radar tracking lost contact with the plane while it was maintaining a cruising altitude of 9,000 feet, positioned approximately 176 km away from the coast.
Following the disappearance, search and rescue operations were launched. During the following morning, fragments of the aircraft were located. On July 10, the main wreckage was discovered at a depth of 995 meters, situated roughly 30 km from Pichavaram. The accident resulted in three fatalities, involving the two pilots and one observer on board.
Findings
No specific technical cause for the loss of contact or the subsequent crash has been officially confirmed in the available reports.