Aircraft stay well away from the famous bungfai bamboo rocket festival in Yasothon. The home-made rockets are surprising fast and powerful, not something a pilot would want to run into.
This year's festival ended last month, but the popularify of the bamboo rockets has spread far beyond Yasothon.
On Tuesday, two Royal Thai Air Force pilots on a training flight out of their base in Phitsanulok were shocked to see three bung fai rockets cross their flight path within 200 metres of their aircraft.
Squadron Leader Apiwat Polarsa and his colleague from Wing 46 Airforce Base in Phitsanulok were flying a BT'67 transport at 3,000 feet around 3pm when they saw the rockets that had been launched by villagers from Sai Ngam district in Kamphaeng Phet.
Sqn Ldr Apiwat reported the incident to his base and decided to call off the training mission.
Air Vice Marshal Mana Prasobsri, chief of Directorate of Civil Affairs, said the pilots were caught unaware by the rockets because there had been no notification of the rocket launches as required by law.
AVM Mana said people must seek permission from local civil and military airports three days before Launching any rockets.
The bung fai also must not go higher than 5,000 feet and are not to travel within eight kilometres of an airport.