IAF pilots land aircraft on unlit runway to rescue 121
In a daring midnight operation, pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) landed a plane on a remote airstrip in Sudan to rescue 121 people, including a pregnant woman.
IAF’s special operations plane C-130J planed without runway lights on ground and no navigational landing aids at a small airstrip at Wadi Siedna, about 40 km north of Khartoum.
The 121 people had no means to reach Port Sudan, located a distance of some 850 km from Wadi Siedna.
The operation was carried out on the intervening night of April 27 and 28. The Wadi Siedna airstrip has a degraded surface, with no navigational approach aids or refuelling facility.
