Patiyalkar, a small village in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, woke up to a reality of Wing Commander Namansh Syal, the local boy who left to fly fighter jets, returning home in a coffin.
His death in the Tejas crash during the Dubai Air Show has left the village stunned, unable to accept that the man they saw as a symbol of discipline and service is gone.
To many, he is still the pilot “who even set an example in death by diverting the aircraft to save thousands present at the mega air show”.
Since Saturday morning, the Syal home in Nagrota Bagwan has turned into the centre of grief. Neighbours are stepping in to hold up a family shattered by loss.
Jogindernath Syal, Namansh’s uncle, confirmed that the mortal remains reached the Sulur Air Force Station near Coimbatore around 9 am. “We have made all arrangements for the cremation,” he said.
Jogindernath came to know about the crash on Friday afternoon after Namansh's father, who was not at home at the time, called him and asked if he had any information about the incident.
“My wife rushed to their tenant, who works in Qatar and had come to the village on a holiday. After scanning the latest news on the internet, he confirmed that it was Namansh who was flying the jet that crashed. I immediately contacted my brother to give him the tragic news. Initially, he did not believe what I said, and came to terms with reality only after I told him that it was confirmed information,” he told PTI Videos.
Namansh leaves behind his parents, his wife, an Air Force officer herself, and their six-year-old daughter. The couple, who met at their first posting in Pathankot, married in 2014.
Nagrota Bagwan SDM Manish Kumar Sharma said, “As soon as I came to know about the crash, I contacted Namansh’s family members. Initially, we thought he was injured. Sadly, we were wrong… A promising career came to an abrupt end.”
His school, Sainik School Sujanpur Tira, held a special prayer meeting. Alumni flooded social media with tributes.
Pankaj Chadha, former president of the school’s Old Boys Association, said Namansh brought glory to the country, and that “his martyrdom will always be remembered”.
The final moments of the Dubai Air Show, meant to be a grand spectacle, turned into a horrifying few seconds caught on camera. The Tejas lost height after a low-level manoeuvre and plunged straight down, exploding into a fireball.
The crash happened around 3.40 pm IST. Namansh had barely begun his eight-minute display.