By Sumit Kumar Singh
New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS): The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday appealed to the people living in the National Capital Region (NCR) not to throw eatables or waste in the open as these would pose a bird-hit threat to IAF aircraft manoeuvres at low levels on October 8.
The IAF will celebrate its 88th anniversary on October 8, which includes an air display of various aircraft at the parade-cum-investiture ceremony slated to be held at the Hindan Air Force Station in Ghaziabad.
The force said that rehearsals for the air display started from Thursday itself.
It emphasised that the general area over which the aircraft will fly at low levels are Wazirpur bridge, Karwalnagar, Afjalpur, Hindan, Shamli, Jiwana, Chandinagar, Hapur, Philkua, and Ghaziabad.
The force requested the people of Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida to ensure that they don't throw eatables in the open.
"The Indian Air Force requests all residents of Delhi, Ghaziabad and its neighbourhood not to throw eatables and garbage in the open as these attract birds. Also, if they find any carcass/dead animals lying in the open, they must report this matter to the nearest air force unit/police station to arrange for its disposal," Wing Commander Indranil Nandi said.
This year, the air display will commence with flag-bearing skydivers of the famous 'Akash Ganga' team dropping out of an AN-32 aircraft in their colourful canopies at 8 am on October 8.
The flypast would include the vintage aircraft, modern transport aircraft and frontline fighter aircraft. The ceremony will conclude at 10.52 am with a spellbinding aerobatic display.
The force has been making such appeals to the public since 1989. On October 8, 1989, a Mirage 2000 fighter jet had crashed and exploded during a final acrobatic manoeuvre on IAF Day, killing the pilot who had attempted an extra roll.
The pilot, Commander Ramesh Bakshi, the 39-year-old commander of the Mirage squadron, was killed instantly though no one on the ground was killed. Around 2,000 spectators however suffered sprained ankles or bruises while running away from the crash site.