Atlantique Incident

Part of Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts

.
An Atlantic plane belonging to the Italian Navy. The downed Pakistan Navy plane was of the same type.

Date	10 August 1999
Location	Rann of Kutch, Indian-Pakistani international border
Result	IAF intercepted and shot down Pakistani naval reconnaissance plane Deterioration of Indo-Pakistani relations

Belligerents

India

Pakistan

Commanders and leaders

Atal Bihari Vajpayee
(Prime Minister of India)
ACM Anil Tipnis
(Chief of Air Staff)

PM Nawaz Sharif
(Prime Minister of Pakistan)
Adm. Fasih Bokhari
(Chief of Naval Staff)

Units involved

Indian Air Force

No. 45 Squadron

Pakistan Navy

No. 29 Squadron

Strength

2 MiG-21FL

1 Atlantic-91N

Casualties and losses

None

5 officers killed
11 sailors killed

Indian Air Force

Pakistan Navy

The Atlantique Incident was an event in which a Breguet Atlantic patrol plane of the Pakistan Navy's Naval Air Arm, with 16 people on board, was shot down by the Indian Air Force for violating Indian airspace. The episode took place in the Rann of Kutch on 10 August 1999, just a month after the Kargil War, aggravating already tense relations between India and Pakistan.

Foreign diplomats based in Pakistan and escorted to the site by the Pakistani Army noted that the plane may have crossed the border. The Islamabad-based diplomats said they also believed that India's reaction was unjustified. Pakistan later lodged a compensation claim at the International Court of Justice, blaming India for the incident, but the court dismissed the case, ruling that the Court had no jurisdiction in the matter.

The French-built Breguet Atlantic (Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic) plane, flight Atlantic-91, c/n 33, of 29 Squadron, was one of the Pakistan Navy's frontline aircraft, used primarily for patrol and reconnaissance. Atlantic-91 left Mehran (Sindh province) Naval Base in Pakistan at 9:15 am PST (9:45 IST). Indian Air Force ground radar picked up the plane as it approached the India-Pakistan border. Two IAF MiG-21 interceptor aircraft of No.45 Squadron, from the Indian airbase at Naliya in the Kutch region, were scrambled. After a series of manoeuvres—with conflicting versions of events from both sides—the two jets were given clearance to shoot down the Pakistani plane. At 11:17 am IST (10:47 am PST), nearly two hours after takeoff from Pakistan, the Atlantic was intercepted and an infrared homing R-60 air-to-air missile was fired at it by Squadron Leader P.K. Bundela, hitting the engine on the port side of the plane. This resulted in the aircraft going out of control and spiralling down, crashing at approximately 1130 hours IST, at the approximate location 23°54′N 68°16′E / 23.900°N 68.267°E / 23.900; 68.267. All 16 personnel on board the Atlantic-91, including five officers of the Pakistan Navy, were killed.

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Wikipedia