Did you know that Ratan Tata was a licensed pilot who once flew an F-16 fighter jet?
Ratan Tata was a licensed pilot, like his predecessor JRD Tata, who was India's first licensed pilot. During the 2007 Aero India Show in Bengaluru, Ratan Tata took to the skies in a Lockheed Martin Fighting Falcon, making him the first civilian to fly an F-16.
Throughout his illustrious career, Ratan Tata, the Chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, has worn several hats: that of a businessman, philanthropist, startup investor, mentor, and even pilot. Yes, you read that right, Ratan Tata was a licensed pilot, like his predecessor JRD Tata, who was India's first licensed pilot and received his commercial pilot's licence in 1929.
1980s :: Ratan Tata Inside Cockpit Simulator#OmShanti ? pic.twitter.com/HgOOca6u4D
¡ª indianhistorypics (@IndiaHistorypic) October 9, 2024
Ratan Tata, the fighter jet pilot
While Ratan Tata occasionally flew the Tata Group's plane, he took it to an entirely different level in 2007 when he sat in the pilot¡¯s seat of an F-16 fighter jet.
CREDIT: BCCL
During the 2007 Aero India Show in Bengaluru, Ratan Tata took to the skies in a Lockheed Martin Fighting Falcon, making him the first civilian to fly an F-16.
Ratan Tata, who was 69 years old at the time, was supervised by a seasoned Lockheed Martin pilot during a half-hour flight. Tata described his experience as "exhilarating."
CREDIT: BCCL
"You end up feeling very timid... We went down to around 500 ft off the deck and it flew around the topography, and it's just unbelievable because you just climb over a hill and come down," Tata had said.
When Ratan Tata flew Boeing F-18 Super Hornet
This was not the only time Ratan Tata got to fly a fighter jet. In the 2011 Aero India, Ratan Tata took to the skies once again, this time in a Boeing F-18 Super Hornet.
CREDIT: BCCL
When Ratan Tata became pilot for AirAsia chief
Another notable instance of Ratan Tata being a pilot was in 2013, when he flew AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes to Delhi from Mumbai ahead of the launch of AirAsia India, which was a joint venture between Tata Sons and AirAsia.
"My new pilot Sir Ratan Tata flying me to Delhi. Another way AirAsia cuts costs. The adviser is a pilot,¡± Fernandes had said in a tweet.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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