Surya Kiran scrape at IAF’s Gujarat show, probe on

A major mishap was averted on the last day of the three-day IAF air show at the Sardar Patel International Airport on Sunday.

A major mishap was averted on the last day of the three-day IAF air show at the Sardar Patel International Airport on Sunday.

While nearly five lakh people, including CM Modi and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi, watched a ‘mirror image’ formation of nine trainer aircrafts of Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT), little were they aware that the right wing of one of the Surya Kirans had got damaged in the process. ‘‘A full emergency was declared, when the damaged aircraft failed to land on time. However, to avoid panic among spectators, the emergency siren was not sounded,” a source in airport said.

‘‘The ‘mirror image’ formation involves an inverted Surya Kiran flying over another. In the process, one of the aircrafts suffered minor damage when it came in contact with another. The pilot managed to manouevre the aircraft safely and, as a precaution, landed after the other aircraft had landed. The aircraft was immediately attended to by four firetenders stationed at the airport,’’ said defence spokesperson Wing Commander T K Singha. A court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident, he added.

According to sources, the speeding aircraft landed on the runway near the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower and stopped only when it reached the taxiway. Fuel was leaking from the rear of the aircraft and had begun spreading on the runway, which was immediately covered with foam carpeting, they said. “Afterwards, we towed the aircraft away to clear the runway for civil flights,” said an airport officer.