Pune: Santacruz control tower, this is Auster MK IX, at flight level 40 (4,000 ft) over Khed Shivapur, heading north-bound to Nashik Road. There is snake in the cockpit."
This measured radio transmission on December 28, 1962, by Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) B R Karandikar, a Major in the Indian Army at the time, scarce belied the spine-chilling circumstances under which he was undertaking the flight from Pune to Nashik Road — as young Karandikar flew the three-seater aircraft with his two airmen passengers, the watchful eyes of a 5.9-foot Indian cobra glittered a mere one-and-a-half feet above his head.
Not only did the young pilot, now 91, fly the aircraft in a calm, collected way, he did so for 50 long minutes before landing it — again, safely — on the Nashik Road Airfield.
While flying an aircraft with a full-grown venomous cobra slithering around is clearly no task for the faint-hearted, Karandikar's act of valour went unacknowledged by the Indian Air Force (IAF) for 53 years — his bravery found praise only after he himself wrote a letter about the incident to the Prime Minister's Office on June 5, followed by one to the Ministry of Defence dated July 25 this year.
Finally, a week ago, a special memento and personal letter dated August 8, written from the office of Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, was handed over to Karandikar by IAF authorities from Lohegaon. Additionally, Raha requested Karandikar to share the story in his words for publishing in Aerospace Safety, the monthly IAF magazine that details the flying experiences of its pilots.
05/09/14 Prateek Goyal/Pune Mirror
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This measured radio transmission on December 28, 1962, by Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) B R Karandikar, a Major in the Indian Army at the time, scarce belied the spine-chilling circumstances under which he was undertaking the flight from Pune to Nashik Road — as young Karandikar flew the three-seater aircraft with his two airmen passengers, the watchful eyes of a 5.9-foot Indian cobra glittered a mere one-and-a-half feet above his head.
Not only did the young pilot, now 91, fly the aircraft in a calm, collected way, he did so for 50 long minutes before landing it — again, safely — on the Nashik Road Airfield.
While flying an aircraft with a full-grown venomous cobra slithering around is clearly no task for the faint-hearted, Karandikar's act of valour went unacknowledged by the Indian Air Force (IAF) for 53 years — his bravery found praise only after he himself wrote a letter about the incident to the Prime Minister's Office on June 5, followed by one to the Ministry of Defence dated July 25 this year.
Finally, a week ago, a special memento and personal letter dated August 8, written from the office of Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, was handed over to Karandikar by IAF authorities from Lohegaon. Additionally, Raha requested Karandikar to share the story in his words for publishing in Aerospace Safety, the monthly IAF magazine that details the flying experiences of its pilots.
05/09/14 Prateek Goyal/Pune Mirror
