A THAI PILOT related a shocking incident when a rocket fired during Bun Bang Fai festival in the Northeast blazed past the airplane reaching almost 8,000 feet above sea level and urged organisers to get permission from aviation authorities before allowing people to set off these enormous home-made rockets, Naewna newspaper said today (May 16).
Bun Bang Fai, or Rocket Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Laos and Thailand. It is usually held in May or June, at the beginning of the rainy season, according to Toureast.net.
It is believed to have originated from an ancient tradition of the Tai people, who used rockets to scare away evil spirits and bring rain for their crops. Over time, the tradition evolved into a festival celebrated in various forms throughout Laos and northeastern Thailand.
However this pilot said in his Facebook post that aside from floating lanterns released in Chiang Mai during Yi Peng festival there are also these rockets set off in the Northeast.
“This is my personal opinion – I understand that this is a tradition that has been continuing for a very long time but I want everyone participating in this festival to beware of the safety of the community because it is very dangerous for the aircraft – including the passengers on the plane,” he wrote.
He added that while flying at 6,000 feet today after taking off from Ubon Ratchathani airport he saw a rocket less than 200 metres away from the plane and it zoomed even higher reaching almost 8,000 feet.
This is very dangerous and a disaster could have happened, he said, adding he reported what happened to air traffic controllers and they mentioned that no permission had been sought to release these powerful festival rockets in this zone.
After that an air force pilot also reported coming across other rockets and the air traffic controllers had to advise him on which direction to take.
“Think about it, how dangerous this is,” he said.
CAPTION:
The view from the plane’s cockpit. Photo shared by the unnamed pilot
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