The IAF’s Tejas fighter jet, an indigenous multi-role Light Combat Aircraft, crashed during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show on Friday, killing the pilot.

The IAF identified the deceased pilot as Wing Commander Namansh Syal, who hailed from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh. He was commissioned into the IAF in December 2009 and was from 184th Course.

A video is now being widely circulated online, capturing the pilot in high spirits while interacting with officials just hours before the tragic Tejas crash. In the footage, Syal can be seen smiling and conversing, and then posing for a group photo with India’s Defence Minister of State Sanjay Seth, India’s Ambassador to the UAE Deepak Mittal, Additional Secretary (Gulf) Aseem Mahajan and other dignitaries.

The single-engine light weight ai

See Full Page