Shooting Down of a Pakistani Cessna Aircraft in 1967

[Abbas Ali]

There's another incident which although is not directly related to 1971 war but it was a civilian Pakistani aircraft loss.

It was shooting down of a Pakistani Cessna light aircraft by Indian Air Force Hunter aircraft. There's conflicting information about the date/year of the incident. Does anyone have details like exactly when it happened and other details like exact type of aircraft and its registration ?

Some sources say this happened in 1967 but according to article on indiatimes.com it happened in third week of January 1971.

According to a reliable source the incident happened due to poor visibility conditions (fog ?) during winter in areas near Lahore bordering with India and most likely the pilot of Pakistani Cessna aircraft by mistake entered Indian air space due to poor visibility.

Quoted here is information from article on indiatimes.com.

"Around the 3rd week of Jan 1971, one small single engine propeller aircraft, allegedly from the Lahore Flying Club, had flown into the Indian territory. Two Hunter Aircrafts were scrambled from the nearest Indian fighter base to intercept this small alien aircraft. This Aircraft was shot down as it did not respond to the messages that were sent to it over the radio, neither did it heed to the visual signal given to it by the pilots of our intercepting aircraft. This set out a high alert in the western sector.''

Abbas

[Abbas Ali]

The month & year as January 1971 given in article on indiatimes.com is not correct.

The incident happened in February 1967 - thanks to Jagan Pillarisetti for correction.

Yusuf Malik was the student pilot of ill-fated Cessna aircraft of Lahore Flying Club.

Here's a couple of news reports related to his incident from February 2, 1967 edition of "Spokane Daily Chronicle". It means the incident most probably happened on February 1, 1967 (Wednesday).

Intrusion Charged

Indian Air Force Down “Unwelcome” Pakistani Plane

NEW DELHI, India (AP) – An Indian Air Force fighter shot down a single-engine Pakistani spotter plane today 18 miles inside territory today 18 miles inside Indian territory, the Defence Ministry announced. The plane was observed to crash and no one bailed out, the pilot of the Indian fighter reported.

The Defence Ministry said the interception took place near Ferozepur in Punjab State.

Indian officials pointed out that Ferozepur is an area of one of India’s major military strongpoints and would be of interest to the Pakistan Army.

According to the Defence Ministry announcement, Indian radar detected the Pakistani plane and followed it to a maximum penetration of 29 miles. The plane penetrated in “clear and good weather” and “was obviously intent upon reconnaissance over Indian soil.”

It added that the Indian fighter signaled the pilot to land on Indian soil, but he turned and tried to return to Pakistan. He was shot down then.

Aircraft Missing

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) – Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced today a single-engine training aircraft belonging to the Lahore Flying Club is missing.

It was a routine local training flight and was flown by student pilot, Yusuf Malik, authorities said.

At about the same time, the Defence Ministry in New Delhi announced that a Pakistani “spotter plane” was shot down near Ferozepore, India.

Source: Spokane Daily Chronicle (February 2, 1967 edition)

[Abbas Ali]

Now exact type of the Lahore Flying Club (LFC) aircraft and its registration need to be known.

Abbas