A major tragedy has been avoided due to sheer providence. An Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter aircraft accidentally dropped a weapon that it was carrying under its wings over the deserts in Rajasthan last night.
A French made Mirage-2000 combat aircraft was on a routine night flying practice session when it dropped a 250 kilogram bomb near the barren lands of Pokhran, Rajasthan, well sources confirmed. The bomb exploded and caused crater in the ground. It landed away from habitation and was off-target, said a source while adding that it could have caused damage had it hit a habitation or any of the defence installation.
It was a “practice” bomb. The aircraft had taken off from a base in Central India and the pilots were practicing in the night when the accident occurred. A court of enquiry has been ordered.
A source added that there could either be a problem with the “pods” - which hold the weapons to the plane - or the pilot could have erred in judgement and released the bomb earlier than intended.
The IAF is tight lipped about the accident. Mirage is one of the front line fighters India. The avionics of these fighters are being upgraded.
In a separate incident, a pilot had died in an air crash near Bathinda when the MiG 21 he was flying crashed. The pilot had sacrificed his own life in trying to save a village where his plane was set to crash land.(TRIBUNE)
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