10-17-2005, 10:38 AM
<b>Narrow escape for defence top brass, Russian minister </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->MAHAJAN FIRING RANGE (RAJASTHAN), OCTOBER 16: It was a narrow escape for the Armyâs top brass, the IAF chief, the Russian Defence Minister and about 50 senior military officers this morning during the first Indo-Russian airborne exercise in the Thar desert. A heavy load, including an anti-tank guided missile jeep, that was dropped with parachutes from an IAF Antonov-32 transport plane landed just three metres away from spectatorâs pavilion where they sat.
The crate came so close that most officers got out of their chairs and rushed forward, fearing that it would crash into their pavilion. An unexpected gust of wind in the north-westerly direction blew the load towards the onlookers.
Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi, clearly troubled by the close call, said later that he had ordered a debrief from the mission pilot but had âânothing more to addââ. In fact, it was the Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov who lunged to rescue the embarrassed Indian military brass by saying, ââIn a real war situation, you would not have pavilions with VIPs and journalists. In the event, it was a perfect drop, since the load landed neatly concealed between two dunes. I congratulate you on that.ââ.............
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The crate came so close that most officers got out of their chairs and rushed forward, fearing that it would crash into their pavilion. An unexpected gust of wind in the north-westerly direction blew the load towards the onlookers.
Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi, clearly troubled by the close call, said later that he had ordered a debrief from the mission pilot but had âânothing more to addââ. In fact, it was the Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov who lunged to rescue the embarrassed Indian military brass by saying, ââIn a real war situation, you would not have pavilions with VIPs and journalists. In the event, it was a perfect drop, since the load landed neatly concealed between two dunes. I congratulate you on that.ââ.............
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