British Fighter Jet Takes Unexpected Detour to India, and Is Embraced by Locals
As the British military works to find a way to bring it home, A.I.-generated images of the jet — an aircraft worth more than $100 million currently parked on the airport's tarmac — have spread across India.
The region's tourism agency has joined in, posting a fictitious five-star review from the plane on social media: 'Kerala is such an amazing place, I don't want to leave. Definitely recommend.'
The plane, which arrived at the airport in mid-June, may be grounded for a bit longer too, as British engineers scramble to figure out how to get it back to its home country.
How did it get stuck?
The jet was unable to return to its aircraft carrier while on a flight, the H.M.S. Prince of Wales, because of weather conditions and was diverted to the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, the British High Commission in New Delhi said in a statement.
After landing at the airport, the jet developed an engine issue, the high commission said. Engineers from the aircraft carrier traveled to the airport and assessed the plane and decided that a British engineering team would be needed to get it off the ground again.
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