Aero India 2019: India begins Asia’s biggest air show on a sombre note with a ‘missing man’ formation as tribute to fallen pilot

The Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday kicked off the five-day Aero show which will exhibit spectacular formation of fighter jets, helicopters and civilian aircraft.

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Nearly 5,000 visitors along with 500 companies are expected to participate in the show.

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The first day of the show began with combat aircraft Rafale of the French Dassault Aviation flying in the air.

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Indian Air Force paid tribute to the pilot Wing Commander Sahil Gandhi — who died during a crash just a day before the show after two Surya Kiran aircraft collided — by making a ‘missing man’ formation.

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The "missing man" formation is the way military aviators pay tribute to a fallen pilot. The tradition of missing man formation was started to pay tribute to Charles "speed" Holman, an American stunt pilot, who died in an air crash in the 1930s.

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As against 72 aircraft in the previous edition in 2017, only 61 aircraft registered for flying and static display on the tarmac of the air base this time.

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Similarly, the number of global and Indian aerospace firms participating in the expo has slumped to 373 from 549 last time.

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The defence behemoth HAL is showcasing its HTT-40 (basic trainer aircraft), upgraded Hawk Mk132 named Hawk-i, civil Do-228 (civil version of Dornier 228 aircraft), Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Rudra, Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) and Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) in its pavilion.

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