JODHPUR, July 16: An Indian military pilot appeared to be flying into bad weather with his army bosses for using a gunship helicopter to airdrop a gift to a girlfriend at a strategic town near Pakistan, officials said on Tuesday.

The Indian air force denied its involvement in the love-smitten drop but sources said the errant pilot belonged to the army’s aviation corps.

He used a French-built Alouette chopper to serenade his lady-love by showering her with a hefty gift, they said.

“The chap took off from Jaisalmer and dropped height over a house or a hotel to send down something, probably a gift to impress his girlfriend,” a senior defence ministry source said.

“We’ll be talking to him about his love pangs,” the ministry source said, declining to disclose the flier’s name or rank in line with military regulations.

Jaisalmer is one of India’s strategic forward frontier garrison towns, housing clusters of fighter jets and bombers in underground shelters. It also has a sizable army presence.

Shaitan Singh, who was staying at the Nachna (“Dancing”) Hotel in Jaisalmer, said guests were taken by surprise when they saw the noisy Alouette lose height and clatter to its self-chosen “drop zone”.

“The air force helicopter hovered over the hotel and swooped down giving us quite a fright. Just as we were beginning to panic we saw the young pilot air-drop a big box gift-wrapped in yellow on the roof of the hotel,” said Singh.

“The hotel staff discovered it was a birthday present for the pilot’s lady-love staying at the Nachna Hotel,” he said.

In New Delhi, air force spokesman Squadron Leader R.K. Dhingra said his pilots or helicopters were not involved in the bizarre escapade in Jaisalmer, located in the desert state of Rajasthan.

Indian military aircraft are under stern instructions to maintain altitudes assigned to them over civilian areas.—AFP