The U.S. Ambassador to India has expressed sympathies with the family of the pilot who died.
“We would like to extend our sympathies. Unfortunately, we don’t always appreciate how dangerous these manoeuvres are... It is a real shame,” said Kenneth I. Juster, the U.S. Ambassador, who is here with a large delegation of the U.S. military and administrative officials for Aero India scheduled to start on Wednesday.
Alan Shaffer, Deputy under-secretary of Defence for acquisition and sustainment, said these demonstrations signify the greatness of the military and that it is a dangerous occupation. “As a former Airman, I recognise the dangers of military operations, which are highlighted in these kinds of events. It happens in many places and [even] the U.S. is coming up on the one-year anniversary of the loss of a [U.S. Air Force] Thunderbird pilot in an aerial demonstration [in April 2018],” he said.
