Saras Plane - Crash, takes three pilots lives

The images taken by me of the Saras Plane during the Aero India show in February 2009, was short lived as it crashed within a month, along with three of the best pilots of the Indian Air Force. The plane which was still under experiment, plunged to its end on March 6th 2009. The images you see below of the accident site were taken by my team member Mohan Kumar B N and the video pictures were taken by an onlooker who happened to be at the right place at the right time.

SARAS AT THE AERO INDIA SHOW - FEB 11th to the 14th, 2009 at the Yelanka Airforce base in Bangalore.

These are the only few images I had taken during the India International Air Show. During the show I did not realize the importance of this plane and so I just took a few pictures as a matter of stock images. But after the Crash these images proved to be very lucky for our newspaper (DNA-Bangalore Edition), as we were able to compare the images pinpoint and tell our readers that it was the same plane which crashed.



D Srinivas captured these video images of the burning and mangled remains of the Saras plane which crashed on the outskirts Bidadi 30 kilometers away from Bangalore on Friday, 6th March 2009.





These moving images of the remains of the Saras Plane taken by my team mate Mohan Kumar B N showing the various moods of people as well the investigators trying to get some lead as to why the crash occurred. Some of the images show the charred remains of two of the three pilots and also of the inconsolable co-workers of the NAL who were handling the Saras Plane project.

Abhinav Bindra's Fantasy Flight

First Indian to win an Olympic gold medal Abhinav Bindra took a free ride in a Lockheed Martin 'F-16IN' during the Aero India international air show 2009 at the Yelahanka air force base in the month of February, 2009.

After a sortie for more than 45 minutes Abhinav Bindra claimed it to be the best thing he has experienced after winning the gold medal in Olympics.
''Words cannot explain the excitement I underwent in those 45 minutes on board the F16IN. It was simply ecstatic and I'm still coming to terms with the experience. It was probably similar to what I felt when I won the Olympic Gold last August,'' Said Bindra.

The fourth generation F-16IN is in race for the IAF order floated to induct 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) into its depleting fleet and as a replacement in phases to the ageing Russian-made MiG-21 fighters.
At the controls of the 'F-16IN' was Lockheed's test-pilot Paul 'Bear' Randall, who has clocked 4,500 hours of flying time on various F-16 models.

"We went away from the airfield, pulled off a lot of Gs, up to 6.5 Gs. We did some maneuvers like turns and rolls. And we flew past the clouds at 20,000 feet and almost hit the speed of sound,'' Randall said, giving 10/10 to the gold medalist.
Bindra also had the privilege of manning the flight for a few minutes. "I felt I was in able hands,'' the pilot said about giving the controls to Bindra.

Below are the pictures taken by me before his take off.


Abhinav Bindra being told how to step into and step out of a cockpit at the Aero India International Air Show. After a Reassuring smile from Abhinav Bindra he was asked to come down and and few more tips were given to him before he took the co-pilot ladder to take his seat in the F-16In fighter jet craft.






Abhinav Bindra after taking the co-pilot seat and the helmet on he wavs to the waiting media before the pilot hops on to whizzz him in air for 45 minutes.






Abhinav Bindra waves to the F-16In ground staff from the co-pilot seat, even as the doors to the cockpit closes, then stares into the setting sun for a few moments, looks up towards the sky for an quite prayer before checking the gap between his head and the cockpit's closed door even as he keeps plugging on the oxygen mask on to his nose.
Though Abhinav Bindra looked very nervous he put up an brave face by not looking at the media but instead kept his nerves like the way he displayed while winning the Olympic Gold.

And then finally Abhinav Bindra the first Indian Olympic Medal winner leaves land in an supersonic F-16In fighter jet craft to touch the unlimited parts of the Bangalore skies.

Combat Exercise by Indian Paratroopers

The main aim of having a Parachute Unit to any country is for quick deployment of the solders behind enemy lines to attack the enemy from behind & destroy their first line of defense. They are the "CRACK FORCE" & help the main army to get in without much damage. The Indian Paras are the Elite group of soldiers & generally all the Special Forces personals are selected from it. Though it has its own SF Units & slowly they are being converted into SF or better known as "COMMANDOS".
The three parachute commandos (battalion-size units) perform Special Forces duties. Airborne, Air Assault or Parachute troops are usually held centralized. The mounts, in all cases, are provided by the Indian Air Force. The parachute and parachute commando units, which are part of the Indian Army's Special Forces, are ready reaction troops, although their use “is heavily dependent on the Air Force air transport fleet.
By start of the new century, the Parachute Regiment had essentially two components. One part was the traditional parachute force, with the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Parachute.
In 2003 the government announced the creation of four new Special Forces battalions to be trained in cooperation with Israel. The intended role for these units was to stop cross-border infiltration in Kashmir, though they were to be trained for cross-border raids as well. One report indicated in 2004, that the 5th Parachute was converting to the Special Forces role; however, it was actually the 4th that converted. There are no open source indications that the remaining battalions were ever actually formed.
The parachute units of the Indian Army are among the oldest airborne units in the world. The 1st unit was authorized on 15 May 1941, & by October 1941 the 50th (Independent) Parachute Brigade had been formed; comprising 152nd Parachute Battalion (Indian), 151st Parachute Battalion (British) & 153rd Parachute Battalion (Gurkha).
The Pictures you get to see below are the ones taken at the Parachute Regiment Training Center in Bangalore during the visi of the Sultan of Brunei.

Fighters of the Parachute Regiment Training Center enact a war scene as their slither down a mock training iron railings (left) as they enact an arm to arm combat with an mock target (right) to the visiting Sultan of Brunei His Majesty Hazi Hassanal Bolkiah after he had checked out the latest and mordern Weapons of Warfare during his visit in Bangalore on Friday 23rd May 2008.

Commandos of the Parachute Regiment Training Center enact a war scene as one Sits behind an tree trunk to give covering fire (left) to the fellow commando who is running for the final assualt (right) to the visiting Sultan of Brunei His Majesty Hazi Hassanal Bolkiah after he had checked out the latest and mordern Weapons of Warfare during his visit in Bangalore on Friday 23rd May 2008.

The below operation is an very coveted one tacking the unpredictability of the Jammu & Kashmir hills surrounded with thick forest and rocky terrain. The Paratroop Commandos are air lifted by a Helicopter and dropped to a certain point to finish an operation with terrorists holed up in a Kashmir home. The whole operation lasts 6 minutes and the enemy is neutralized with meticulous planning and swift and calculated moves during the operation.























This Scene was appreciated by the visiting Sultan of Brunei and he also praised the team from the fast coordinated moves by helping each other through out the six minute operation.

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Maneuvers of the Surya Kiran - Aero India Show 2009

The latest of Surya Kiran show witnessed by me was in February, 2009 at the Aero India Show which had six of the ten planes left in the team. Over the years the aerobatic team as lost three planes along with some of the finest pilots who dared the limits of the sky.
All the pilots donning the red plane colors are from a tough backdrop that have flown in various fighter jets like the MIG 23 & 27 versions, Mirage 2000 and the Jaguar.
It is essential for these pilots to have more than 2000 hours of flying and also be a qualified flying instructor. All these fighter pilots have to do a 2 year stint with the Surya Kiran and burn the skies of various countries before being deputed back to their mother units.
The present SKAT is led by Wing Commander Joy Thomas Kurien.
Surya Kiran Aerobatics Team (SKAT) - formally christened so in 1996 - is just one of the four nine-aircraft formation flying squads in the world and traces its history to the IAF's Hunter aircraft formation flying squad, the Thunderbolts of 1982.

At the India Aero Show – 2009 at Yelanka Air force base the men from the red were on a low morale as they had lost a senior pilot in Wing Commander RS Dhaliwal in an air crash on January 21st, 2009. But they came anyway and wowed the guests and visitors with their half strength in mind and maneuvers at the Aero India 2009, in Bangalore from February 11 to 15, 2009. Below are some of their maneuvers captured on camera.

The Surya Kiran team perform an sharp turn (Above) and the split into the 'Bomb Split', (left) during the Aero India Show 2009.



The Surya Kiran aerobatic team's first move is to paint the sky with the tri color (National Flag of India - Colors) above the heads of the onlookers to set their tone for patriotism and a sense of belonging to the country.










The Surya Kiran team members perform their now famous Barrel roll which at the end of their maneuver shows the sign of the 'AIDS' symbol at the Aero India 2009.










The Surya Kiran Team roll over for an drop down bomber style (left) as an ground staff chats up with a Russian lady in a stall at the Aero India Show 2009, after gifting her with one of the shoulder badges of the Surya Kiran team.

The 6 member Surya Kiran Aerobatic team sign off in style by flying low first with the tri color smoke and then pulling up to create an 'Wright', tick mark to stun the visitors and guests who keep waiting and wanting for more at the Aero India - 2009.

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