In a disgraceful incident on board a commercial flight from Delhi to Jodhpur some callous flyers refused to pay due respect to the family of Flight Lieutenant Advitiya Bal, the Indian Air Force pilot who died in the MiG-21 crash on Thursday.
The family travelled from Delhi to Jodhpur on an IndiGo flight to collect the mortal remains of the IAF officer.
A Twitter user Sherbir Panag, the son of lieutenant general (retired) HS Panag and brother of actor Gul Panag, shared the shameful experience on board the flight.
"Flt Lt Bal's family was sitting adjacent to me in row 3. As we landed the Captain requested everyone to remain seated to allow for the Bal family to disembark expeditiously. Everyone in row 1 & 2 disregarded the announcement," tweeted Sherbir Panag, a corporate governance lawyer.
Sherbir, aid, "I and a few passengers had to shout at the top of our voices to make them sit down and allow the Bal family to pass. It was absolutely shocking to see one's fellow country men and women behave in this tone deaf, selfish manner. That's the reality of our respect for sacrifice."
Two Indian Air Force pilots were killed on Thursday night when MiG-21 trainer aircraft crashed during a training sortie near Barmer. Wing Commander M Rana from Himachal Pradesh was the second pilot.
Air headquarters has ordered a court of inquiry to ascertain the cause of the accident.
