Running Towards Problems: The Submarine Search for a Lost Aircraft

By Commander Nandakumar Das (Retd) 

In June 2015, a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft went missing off the coast of Chennai. Despite extensive search operations by the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, no trace was found. Pressure mounted as rumours swirled and families waited for closure. 

At the time, I was commanding INS Sindhu, a Kilo-class submarine fitted with an indigenous sonar system capable of detecting the locator beacon frequency. No submarine had ever been tasked to search for a sunken aircraft, but I believed physics was on our side. With my Commodore’s approval, we diverted course to join the mission. 

The odds were stacked against us. The beacon’s battery life was only 30 days, and we were already 14 days late. The sea was rough, rations were running out, and machinery began breaking down. My crew urged me to turn back. But I knew this mission mattered — not just for the Navy, but for the families waiting for answers. 

On the 26th day, with only two days of beacon life left, our sonar picked up a faint signal. We triangulated the position and passed it to a deep-sea vessel. Hours later, the wreckage was found within 60 meters of our coordinates. Though lives were lost, closure was finally possible. 

Innovation kept us afloat. When our hydrogen burner failed, the crew improvised with spare parts to prevent disaster. That ingenuity allowed us to sustain the mission. For this effort, the Navy awarded us the Innovation Trophy, and I had the honour of narrating the story to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.  

Reflection 

This mission taught me that leadership is about running towards problems, not away from them. It is about persisting when fatigue sets in, innovating when systems fail, and putting the mission above comfort. I could have stayed on course, enjoyed seafood with my crew, and avoided risk. Instead, we chose to step into uncertainty — and made history. 

True command is not about rank or recognition; it is about responsibility, resilience, and the courage to solve problems no one else dares to attempt. 

ABCEL Perspective 

Commander Das’s story reminds us that veterans embody a mindset of problem-solving under pressure. Their instinct is to run towards challenges, innovate under constraints, and deliver closure when others see impossibility. 

In civilian life, this translates into leadership that thrives in ambiguity, builds trust through persistence, and inspires teams to go beyond comfort zones. Veterans carry this ethos into every new frontier, proving that courage is not just about battlefields — it is about facing the unknown with conviction.