Indian air farce

Mistaking the letter ‘H’ painted in the corner of a cricket field an unlucky pilot landed a helicopter smack in the middle of a domestic cricket game in India. The players, at first looking on in bewilderment as the chopper swooped down, quickly scurried for cover.

The match was a Ranji one-day between Punjab and Services at the Indira Stadium in Una, Himachal Pradesh. According to the Hindustan Times, a fire near the ground added to the uncertainty of the pilot, who mistook it for smoke signals, and also confused the letter ‘H’ for a landing pad. The ‘H’ stood, in reality, for the name of the home team, Himachal Pradesh.

The impulsive appearance of the helicopter, owned by a private airline, halted play for 26 minutes. "It landed suddenly. No one knew what was happening," the Punjab team manager told the paper. "There was chaos. Everyone ran for cover."