IAF aircraft carries out daring long distance non-stop flight to rescue Indians in Sudan

During the midnight hours of May 3-4, 2023, a C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) took off from the Hindan airbase and flew through the night to land at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in the early morning hours.

The IAF aircraft refueled at Jeddah and undertook a nonstop flight from Saudi Arabia during which it evacuated Indians stranded amidst the conflict in war-torn Sudan before returning to India. The aircraft carried excess fuel from Jeddah to avoid a situation of non-availability of fuel and refueling delays in Sudan.

The mission was one of a kind, with the aircraft carrying 192 passengers, mostly ladies, children and elderly persons, who either were NRIs, foreign nationals or OCIs (Overseas Citizens of India). These people were not permitted a landing at Jeddah, and hence were required to be flown directly to India in a nonstop flight by the heavy jet.

One of a kind mission: #IAF C-17 Globemaster brings 192 passengers, mostly women, children & elderly people, who either were NRIs, foreign nationals or OCIs from crisis-hit #Sudan . They were not permitted to land at #Jeddah pic.twitter.com/b9XjlMumxf

— Firstpost (@firstpost) May 5, 2023

At Sudan, the IAF aircraft carried out an overhead steep tactical arrival followed by an assault approach to land the heavy military transport plane. During the entire duration of the ground operations, the aircraft engines were kept running in readiness of a quick exit from the airfield, in case of such a need arising.

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 him 100% oxygen to stabalise him.

The aircraft landed at Ahmedabad late in the evening on May 4 before going on to reach 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 Indians stranded in war-torn Sudan back to India.

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