T ragedy struck the entire IAF community and the nation at large when we lost Wing Commander Namansh Syal in Dubai on Friday . Sayal was performing an aerial display, at low levels, on the HAL-produced Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). It was the final day of the biennial Dubai Air Show at Al Maktoum International Airport, and the last flight for Sayal before the return ferry home.

An IAF contingent was in the UAE to display India’s indigenous defence capabilities, specifically the home-grown fighter, the Tejas. Various videos collected from eyewitnesses and display cameras seem to indicate that the aircraft nosedived into the ground just beyond the runway, as it was coming out of a negative-G turn. For reasons as yet unknown , the pilot did not eject. For the record,

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