| A Real Life ‘Hero’ of Rang de Basanti |
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| Until September 17, 2001. At about eight that night, Gadgil's MiG sped down the runway and took off into a moonless sky. 33 seconds later, it tore nose-first into the ground. At 470 kmph, it dug a nine-foot hole in his beloved sand. Of course Gadgil died, leaving behind a shattered wife and family.
He also became a part of one of the IAF's more peculiar set of statistics. To the tragedy our Defense Minister wrote to Gadgils: “These crashes are not just a couple of years [old]. The history of MiG crashes goes back to the early eighties. It is a problem that the nation has to take on and solve.” In precisely that spirit, the Gadgil family formed the Abhijit Air Safety Foundation in 2002 that has been asking questions about his death and the safety of these aircraft. "The idea was to get authorities to act to stop the loss of young lives in the ancient aircraft of our Air Force in general, and MiG-21 in particular". It's what you'd expect of any family bereaved as they were: they have innumerable questions; they want answers; they want to be sure this never happens again, to any other pilot. The IAF’s ONLY response The questions remain, fueled also by how they have been received. In the IAF's only response to the Gadgil’s' several letters to date -- one Air Marshal Ashok Goel, Inspector General at the Air HQ, wrote to them in March 2003: “We have taken effort [sic] to explain to you the reasons leading to the accident. The [aircraft] was fully serviceable at the time of crash. We ... are quite convinced that the accident was due to disorientation during a dark night take off. [Abhijit's] records do indicate that he was weak in certain aspects of flying ... with experience he managed to cope. A venomous attack on the Air Force or its hierarchy does not, in my opinion, offer any solace. At worst, you may demoralize the Service. Such an act would not be in the best interest of the Nation ... It would be most unfortunate if your intentions are to disrespect the IAF. ... So far we have turned a blind eye to your tirade in public” Some questions for us? • If Abhijit Gadgil was really "weak in certain aspects", why was he asked to fly that night? • Why was he allowed to fly at all? • Or is there a simpler explanation: that Air Marshal Goel decided to use this excuse after the fact? • That it is easier to fault a now dead pilot than admit to, and correct problems with a fleet of fighters? Is this another line of questions that leads to cynicism? The mother of an Indian fighter pilot killed in a crash two years ago has begun a campaign against the use of Russian-made MiGs by the Indian air force. She has formed a group of people who seek what she calls a "rational explanation" for the continuing MiG crashes. The Abhijit Air Safety Foundation was formed on 21 December 2002, an anniversary of the day her son was commissioned into the Indian air force. More than 100 people, including doctors and engineers have already joined the group. "We will be creating pressure groups and we want the government to make public the results of all the MiG crash inquiries." "My son's death is just a statistic now as so many fighter pilots have gone down after his death," she said. "The real cause of the accidents is not being revealed." |
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