Bengaluru: Disaster struck the Flying Bulls at the ongoing Aero India 2015, as two of the aerobatic aircraft collided mid-air at Yelahanka Air Base here on Thursday afternoon.

But despite suffering massive wing and propellor damage, the two uninjured pilots deftly steered the aircraft to safety, avoiding a potential catastrophe. Hundreds of onlookers, many of them schoolchildren, were barely 200 meters from the accident spot.

The drama unfolded at around 3.10 pm, a few minutes into the Czech Republic team’s afternoon aerobatic session. The spectacular stunts in the air went horribly wrong as the tail fin of one plane scrapped against the left wing of another during the ‘wing-over manoeuvre.’ Due to the sudden impact, one aircraft hit the other’s propeller.

Momentarily, the pilots lost control. But the lead pilot, 63-year-old Radka Machova, despite suffering extensive damage to the aircraft, recovered and landed safely. So did the second plane, which too had dents beyond immediate repair. An Indian Air Force (IAF) spokesman later confirmed that both pilots were safe. A precautionary Foreign Object Removal (FOR) parade was carried out on the runway following the accident. The airshow was halted for 40 minutes before the aerobatic displays by other teams took to the skies.

Both aircraft were towed away from the tarmac. Since the damage appeared extensive, a Defence Ministry official indicated that Flying Bulls were unlikely to perform for the reminder of the airshow. For Radka, though, the damage to her German-made XA42 aircraft could accelerate the planned shift to a safer Zlin 50LX aircraft. Eyewitnesses recalled that one of the aircraft almost crash-landed. “We saw one of the planes wobbling heavily before landing. Emergency vehicles and ambulances rushed to the spot. Both the pilots stepped down from the planes on their own,” said Syed Faiz, a business manager, watching the show with his family.However, 56 children from the Great Eastern International Public School, who were squatting right on the tarmac, realised the full impact of the accident much later. Little did they know that they were too close to the spot.

Owned by Red Bull, Flying Bulls arrived for the airshow with a team of three pilots, including Jiri Saller and Krejci. The lead pilot, Radka is a former member of the Czech national aerobatics team. The Bulls’ “Mirror Flight” manoeuvre is a particularly tricky one where two planes fly extremely close. One flies in the normal position while the other flies upside down.

(Agencies)

Bengaluru: The 10th edition of the biennial aerospace exhibition — Aero India 2015 — will take off in a flurry of fascinating aerial displays at the Yelahanka Air Force Station here on Wednesday.

Breaking tradition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally inaugurate the show instead of the defence minister. With a record 623 participating companies and 72 aircraft, the show gets bigger this time.

Betting big on the “Make in India” campaign, Modi is expected to beckon global aviation majors to invest and collaborate with Indian firms. But alongside the aggressive push for partnership deals, the steel birds will take flight to impress business visitors and the public alike.

On the threshold of getting the Final Operational Clearance from Indian Air Force, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Tejas will also showcase its prowess. Giving the LCA stiff competition on the versatility front, American and French fighter jets will make one final bid to clinch the long-delayed Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal.

For the public, the wing-walkers of the globally renowned Scandinavian Airshow Group and the Aero Superbatics team from the United Kingdom will fly high in breathtaking aerobatic manoeuvres. The display pilots will walk and dance to musical beats on the wings of the flying aircraft. The US Special Forces will debut with their pulsating open sky jumps, while the Flying Bulls from Czech Republic will be back again.

The gigantic C-17 Globemaster-III, the Boeing KC-135 tanker and Embraer’s EMB-145-I will remain big on static display, alongside 17 other civilian aircraft. Record ticket sales of over 3 lakh is expected to make the crowd turnout unprecedented in scale. Official delegates have confirmed participation of 24 countries.

People can also watch out for packed food, colas and mineral drinking water supplies throughout the five days. The authorities have also made arrangements for air conditioned toilets to make it comfortable for visitors. Casual dressing would be fine given the hot weather.

Meanwhile, 3,000 policemen, including home guards, have been pressed into security and traffic-related services. Additional policemen will be deployed on the last two days of the show. The first three days have been dubbed trade days for business visitors, and the weekend is for general visitors.

However, the crowd-puller aerobatic displays will be on show on all the five days. General visitors could view the aerial displays on all days from the Air Display Viewing Area.

(Agencies)