'Keen aviator' Ratan Tata ventures into 2019 Aero India show

Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata, a keen aviator, Thursday was seen at the Aero India show here and he was closeted with his officials at the Tata Aerospace and Defence stall. "Tata arrived at the venue in the morning. He had a meeting with Tata Aerospace and Defence officials," a company spokesperson told PTI. This is not the first time Tata has visited the event.

In 2007, he had taken off in a multi-role combat aircraft F-16 at the air show here for a 35-minute sortie. Ratan Tata, then aged 69, had undertaken the flight in the co-pilot's seat, which was commandeered by Paul Hattendorf, the test pilot of Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the aircraft. Ratan Tata, who holds a pilot's licence, also flew an F-18 during the aero show in 2011. JRD Tata, known as the father of India's civil aviation, had launched Tata Airlines in 1932. It was nationalised in 1953 and rechristened as Air India.