In the hideous days of February 1983 Assam election, and ‘Nellie’ in particular, I witnessed peculiar happenings while doing the tasks of the Election Commission in our Chetak helicopter.
For six decades now, the Chetak has been the backbone of the rotary wing fleets of the three military Services, BSF, many state governments and private aviation companies.
For an industry globally classified as hazardous, protections such as health insurance and a provident fund for workers are necessities. In Sivakasi, they remain elusive.
The industry forecasts exports are set to grow 16% in 2025-26, boosted by surplus domestic production and a drive to push into 26 underserved global markets with strong potential.
Taylor ‘Fema’ Hiester, commander of USAF F-16 Viper Demo Team, hit out at air show organisers for continuing with the show after Wing Commander Namansh Syal lost his life in the incident.
It is a brilliant, reasonably priced, and mostly homemade aircraft with a stellar safety record; only two crashes in 24 years since its first flight. But its crash is a moment of introspection.
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