Air strike alert forces pilots to skip R-day venue

Chennai: Security agencies heaved a sigh of relief as the Republic Day celebrations on Monday came to an end for they had been looking at the sky for a helicopter, fearing an air strike by terrorists. “We had reports that suggested that Lashkar-e-Taiba men might use a helicopter and bomb either at the venue of the parade on the Marina or at the airport,” said a senior police officer.
Pilots were instructed not to fly over the bay. The fly-past by Air Force planes, an important part of the Republic Day parade in Chennai, was not held.
Besides that, several military personnel were stationed on top of many buildings in strategic locations all over the city with hand-held anti-aircraft missile launchers and with orders to shoot down any intruding aircraft in the bay area.
Since the threat of aerial bombing was common to India’s major cities, the security arrangements, made by the Ministry of Defence, were a hush hush affair with even senior officials in the airport and Air Force in Chennai unaware of it.
Air Force personnel carried out a mock drill at the Chennai Airport on Sunday. “We were instructed not to fly near the Marina and take an immediate diversion after take off,” a senior pilot told to The New Indian Express.
27/01/09 ExpressBuzz

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Categories: Safety Jan 2009