Indian Air Force(IAF) Mirage -2000 lands at Yamuna Expressway

Picture courtesy PIB

The IAF which has been considering the use of national highways for emergency landing by fighter aircraft finally got a chance to land one of its planes on a road. This capability was demonstrated by IAF on May 21, 2015 by a Mirage-2000 aircraft which got airborne from one of the IAF bases in Central India. All facilities like make shift Air Traffic Control, safety services, rescue vehicles, bird clearance parties and other requirements were set up by IAF personnel from Air Force Station Agra. Thereafter, in coordination with the District Magistrate and SP of Agra and Mathura, necessary tie up was carried out for activation of the selected stretch. The aircraft made a practice approach on the highway, coming down to a height of 100 mtrs before landing off the next approach. The operations were conducted with active support from the government of Uttar Pradesh, Yamuna Expressway Authority, Toll authorities of JP Infratech and Civil Police. The IAF has plans to activate more such stretches on highways in the future. This was stated by a release from the Press Information Bureau, Government of India.