The day Indian Air Force received its first home-made Light Combat Helicopter namely ‘Prachand’, reports are coming that two Indian Air Force jets were scrambled to intercept a foreign aircraft that had its origin in Iran and was moving towards the New Delhi Airspace.
According to news agency ANI the security agency received the information of bomb on board and the permission for the flight to land in Delhi was immediately denied.
The reports said that the flight was on its way from Tehran, Iran, to Guangzhou in China. Mahan Air, the privately run Iranian airways contacted the Delhi Airport Traffic Control as it received the bomb threat. However, when it was asked to go to Jaipur, the pilot denied and left the Indian Airspace.
Later, in its statement IAF said, "The aircraft was offered the option to land at Jaipur and then, at Chandigarh. However, the pilot declared his unwillingness to divert to either of the two airports."
When the threats of bomb were shared by the ATC the aircraft already entered Indian Airspace.
At this juncture, Indian Airforce Su-30MKI fighter jets from Punjab and Jodhpur airbases were scrambled to intercept the plane, ANI reported.
Endorsing the news of Bomb threat, the IAF statement added, "On October 3, intimation was received of a bomb scare on an airline bearing Iranian registration, when it was transiting through Indian airspace. IAF fighter aircraft were scrambled, which followed the aircraft at a safe distance."
After a while, intimation was received from Tehran to disregard the bomb scare, following which, the aircraft continued on its journey towards its final destination, IAF statement added.
However, reports said that the Aircraft has left the airspace to continue its journey toward China.
(With Agency Inputs)
