First solo flight celebration at training school goes viral as ‘ragging incident’

BENGALURU: Social media turned mischievous yet again when a video showing students celebrating the first solo flight by a student of Government Flying Training School (GFTS) at Jakkur went viral on Thursday with news channels passing it off as a case of ragging inside the  training school premises.

The officials from the school said that the video, which was in fact a few-months-old, was not a case of ragging but of a celebration. The video, showing the student who completed his first solo flight standing in an empty water fountain with his batchmates aiming water jets at him using a pipe, recently went viral. He was running around the fountain and his clothes appear to be doused with colours.But the news telecast in TV channels portrayed it to be ragging, which took the flying training school officials and police by surprise, with the latter pleading that they had no information about this ‘ragging’ incident.

However, a staff member at GFTS told TNIE: “We celebrate after a student successfully lands the plane for the first time and other students are a part of it. It is a common tradition and students play with colours during then. But some channels portrayed it as ragging. I also confirmed to the police the same and have clarified that it was a not a case of ragging, and that a senior pilot and faculty member of the school were at the spot during the celebrations.”