Gandhinagar: IAF air show enthrals all, skydiver injured in hard landing

An air show of Indian Air Force on Monday enthralled the audience with various flying skills and formations, ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit.

However, a skydiver of Aakash Ganga suffered a sprain in his leg due to hard landing.

The audience held their breath while watching the performance of Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets amid the thunderous roar of its engines.

The aircraft performed a range of awe inspiring manoeuvres, including the 'tail slide' and 'vertical Charlie', before handing over the skies to the 'Surya Kiran' formation aerobatics team.

The four Hawk aircraft formed the 'rays of the sun' and then went about their task showcasing the extreme skills and precision. After displaying various formations in the air, they signed off with an 'India Formation'.

The Aakash Ganga team of the IAF came next, para-dropped from a MI-17V5 helicopter dotting the sky with vibrant colours, predominantly saffron, white and green. The paragliders landed barely a few metres in front of the spectators much to their delight and amazement.

"One sky diver of the IAF Aakash Ganga team at Swarnim Park Gandhinagar had a hard landing. The canopy collapsed at low level due to wind resulting in a high rate of descent in the terminal phase. He suffered a sprain in his leg due to the heavy impact on ground," IAF spokesperson, Wing Commander Abhishek Matiman said.

"He was immediately attended to and evacuated by the paramedics of the IAF present at the venue. He is out of danger with no serious damage," he said.

On Sunday, the IAF had held a full dress rehearsal of the flying display.