Coimbatore: Farmers of Sulur on the outskirts of Coimbatore were gripped by panic on Tuesday morning after the drop tank of an IAF-Tejas on a routine training sortie caught fire and fell on a field after exploding into pieces.
The ‘drop tank’ is attached to the outside of the plane so that the pilot could just jettison it in case of fire or any such emergency.
And it carries additional fuel just in case the plane runs out of fuel on a combat mission.
Civil aircraft do not carry the drop tank.
Sources said the pilot noticed smoke in the drop tank and took the plane to an open area, a paddy field, with no houses, and jettisoned it taking care to avoid civilian casualties and destruction to property.
However, there is a view that there could have been death and destruction had the strong winds prevalent at that time carried the box just 500 metres off the intended drop-point as there are houses in that distance.
The drop tank fell on the field of farmer Natarajan of Chinniyamaplayam near Sulur.
Local farmers heard a huge noise and found a three-ft deep crater in the ground with parts of the tank.
No casualties were reported, and the pilot of the aircraft landed safely in the Sulur air base, added sources..
The IAF have started investigations into the incident.
