New Delhi: Sanjay Gandhi, the elder son of Indira Gandhi, was warned by Rajiv Gandhi that he should not fly the plane in which he crashed, leading to his death, Rahul Gandhi said in a video on Thursday.
In a video released on his official YouTube handle, Rahul Gandhi was seen taking a tour of a photo exhibition on Rajiv Gandhi at the Indian Youth Congress office. He also talked about how he shares the passion for flying with his father.
Talking about risks involved in flying, he said: "Look if you’re a pilot. That's a risk you take. You take it. So, my father told my uncle..."
"Because my uncle was flying a particular type of plane - it was a Pitts. It's a very aggressive plane. My father told him that you know, don't do this. My uncle really didn't have the experience. My uncle had similar hours to what I have about 300-350 hours. And, he shouldn’t have been flying that plane. And, he flew it. And that's what happens when you don't have the experience and you fly. It's easy to kill yourself," Rahul Gandhi said.
Sanjay Gandhi was flying a S-2A Pitts aircraft which crashed killing him on June 23, 1980.
Gandhi revealed that he is also a trained pilot, and he learnt flying when he was in college.
"When I was in College I learnt how to fly. I remember we once went to Jaipur, Udaipur and then we went to Bombay and then we went to Srinagar as well," he said.
He said the DC 3 was his and Rajiv Gandhi's favourite plane. He also said that one of the big regrets Rajiv Gandhi had was leaving flying.
"One of his big regrets was that he left the airline and couldn't fly the bigger jets," Rahul Gandhi added. (UNI)
