Thank God. Hope, February's fury vanishes into oblivion

Bengaluru: February unleashed relentless fury this year. And for the hapless victims, mostly aviators, tragedies rained.

An Indian Air Force (IAF) family in Chennai is praying for the safe return of its son Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman following a cross-border conflict which escalated in no time.

Probably so many crashes in a month is a phenomenon India has never witnessed during peace time.

Perhaps, even during the Kargil War of 1999.

The month also witnessed many security personnel laying down their lives in the call of duty, the most overwhelming incident being at Pulwama on February 14.

Rage of crashes

The IAF lost five types of flying machines in a span of just 27 days. One Mirage, two Hawk AJTs, one MiG-27, one Mi-17V5 and one MiG-21 Bison crashed.

A tragic tale accompanied each crash.

On February 1, the Mirage-2000 trainer crashed at HAL Airport in Bengaluru, soon after take-off. Two young Test Pilots — Sqn Ldr Siddhartha Negi and Sqn Ldr Samir Abrol – lost their lives.

The spotlight soon shifted from the political dogfight over Rafale. The plane-making competencies of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd were questioned.

As the nation mourned the death of two young, promising pilots, the IAF was warming up for its firepower demonstration Vayu Shakti-2019 at the Pokharan ranges in Rajasthan on February 16.

During one of the training sessions on February 12, a MiG-27 crashed in Jaisalmer. The pilot ejected to safety. This was the second crash of a MiG-27 in a span of six months.

Vayu Shakti went off as planned, and the IAF demonstrated its might to strike at will, swiftly. It saw all major assets of the IAF in action, taking on simulated enemy targets close to Pakistan border.

Aero India hit

Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, preparations were in full swing for the Plane Carnival set to begin on February 20.

But the February jinx struck again. On Feb 19, just a day before the show, two Hawks, part of the Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT ) collided in air during the Full Dress Rehearsal.

India lost another young pilot — Wg Cdr Sahil Gandhi — in the incident, while Wg Cdr VT Shelke and SqnLdr TJ Singh ejected. They were injured.

It was an unfortunate start to the 12th edition of Aero India, similar to the one in 2007. The crash and death took away the sheen from the show.

As things were settling down, on February 23, the penultimate day of the air show, a fire broke out in one of the parking lots at the venue.

While there were no fatalities or injuries, the fire completely gutted 278 cars, while another 73 were damaged.

An aerial photo taken from a Mi-17 soon hit the public domain, giving a bird’s eye view of the ‘car cemetery’.

Swift action by the Fire Department and the IAF ensured that the fire was doused in an hour, saving the remaining 2,700-odd cars parked at the venue.

On the other side, the show went on uninterrupted, with planes flying over thick smoke from the parking lot.

Balakot aftermath

Amid all the fire 'n' fury of February, India’s military minds were secretly readying their plans to hit terror camps across the border. They did it with precision, with Mirage 2000s wiping out the camps in Balakot on February 26.

Most of India was asleep when the Mirages completed the mission in 21 minutes.

A day after the Balakot bombing, Pakistan Air Force crossed the LOC, but the bombs missed targets.

And, on February 27, dawn broke with the news of an escalation of conflict. India shot down a Pakistan Air Force F-16, which entered Indian air space with hostile intent. The pilot apparently ejected. However, in the engagement, an IAF MiG-21 Bison was shot down.

The pilot, Wg Cdr Abhinandan Varthaman ejected safely, but unfortunately landed on the wrong side of the border. He was captured.

But February hadn’t finished yet. It preyed on a Mi-17 V5 in Budgam, that had six IAF personnel on board. All six air warriors were killed on the spot.

“It affects the morale. Each one of us has some connection with the men and the machine. You would have known the pilot, would have trained him or had dinner together just the other day. We feel terrible in every loss. Yes, this February has been filled with misfortunes. Strange it is,” said an IAF official.

Thank God it’s over. Thank God February has only 28 days.

But there is some pleasant news coming from across the border. As a peace gesture from Pakistan, Wg Cdr Abhinandan will be released on Friday, March 1. Hopefully the rage of February has ended. Over to March.

(The writer is an independent aerospace and defence journalist, who blogs at Tarmak007 and tweets @writetake.)