Uttarakhand Rescue: When IAF C-130Js Landed On Short Airstrip In Mountains

New Delhi: 

The Indian Air Force (IAF) airlifted 27,500 kg of critical rescue equipment under extremely challenging conditions to a gravel airstrip high up in the mountains of Uttarakhand, where 40 workers are trapped for over 120 hours under a collapsed tunnel.

The “non-routine critical operation” was quite complex with no room for error as the length of the advanced landing ground (ALG) in Uttarakhand’s Dharasu was short, and the IAF aircraft was arriving with a high landing weight due to the heavy equipment that weighed roughly the same as a fully-loaded big truck, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Before the green light for the mission, the pilots of the US-origin C-130J Super Hercules flew in an IAF helicopter over the ALG to assess obstructions and the runway condition. Multiple approaches were flown by the helicopter to ensure that the most suitable call is taken before clearing the ALG for such critical operations, sources said.

The Dharasu ALG, some 30 km from the tunnel rescue site, was the nearest landing ground albeit with a short and narrow airstrip of 3,600 feet (1.1 km) at an elevation of 3,000 feet above mean sea level.

Two C-130Js flew to Agra and Palam to check the heavy equipment they would carry if the ALG was confirmed as safe for landing, sources said. During earlier feasibility trial, the Dharasu ALG was made unfit for routine operations by the C-130Js.

The entire mission hinged upon two critical aspects i.e. ALG fitness and success of the operation. Sources said the mission was undertaken amidst the challenges of reduced visibility conditions during departure, heavyweight landing on a short and narrow airstrip and offloading (cargo) in constricted space.