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Jet Fighter Crashes During Exhibition Flight, Killing Pilot
SHARON HERBAUGHOctober 8, 1989
NEW DELHI, India (AP) _ A Mirage 2000 fighter jet crashed and exploded Sunday during a final acrobatic maneuver on Indian Air Force Day, killing the pilot who had attempted an extra roll, officials said.
No one on the ground was killed, but some of the 2,000 spectators suffered sprained ankles or bruises running to or from the site, they said.
The silver delta-winged aircraft of French design was completing a climb known as a ″Vertical Charlie″ when it plunged to the ground about 300 yards from a reviewing stand at Palam Airport in west New Delhi.
Military and civilian dignitaries, journalists and other guests had watched the parade of 650 enlisted men and an aerial display.
The pilot, identified as Wing Commander Ramesh Bakshi, the 39-year-old commander of the Mirage squadron, was killed instantly, Air Force Chief Marshal S.K. Mehra said.
He told reporters the accident apparently was caused by ″an error in judgment.″
Mehra said the sky was hazy and may have disoriented Bakshi. The plane was about 18 feet from the ground when the pilot tried the maneuver, he said.
The Mirage was completing the final flyby during the parade marking the 57th anniversary of the Indian air force and honoring its 115,000 officers.
Air Marshal N.C. Suri, vice chief of the air staff, said Bakshi was only supposed to perform three rolls in the finale. Instead, the officer said, he attempted four.
The plane made a steep climb, then descended making three loops and rolls, he said. After failing to complete a fourth roll, the pilot was unable to pull out of the descent and the plane hurtled to the ground, he said.
Some spectators gasped and several air force wives ran toward the burning wreckage.
The aircraft slammed into the ground, exploded and bounced three times through fuel tanks, igniting a huge fireball. Several vehicles parked in the area were badily damaged by the burning chunks.
The Mirage is capable of flying up to 1,460 miles an hour at an altitude of 65,600 feet.
The Indian air force bought 49 Mirage 2000 planes between 1982 and 1986.