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Journalism of Courage
The Russian Knights aerobatic team paid tribute to Wing Commander Namansh Syal, the Indian Air Force pilot who died when his Tejas fighter jet crashed during a low-altitude negative-G turn at the Dubai Air Show on Friday, by performing the solemn ‘Missing Man’ formation.
In a video posted on the Russian social platform VK, the Russian Knights described the Tejas crash as “impossible to describe”. They said their final display at the aviation show was dedicated to “the memory of the brothers who did not return from the last flight”.
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US aerobatic pilot Taylor “FEMA” Hiester also wrote on Instagram that the team withdrew from their last performance on the air show’s second day as a mark of respect for Syal.
“After two years of doing this job, that was a first for our team and it came just before our final performance of the season,” Hiester shared. “Together and individually, we all quietly watched the aftermath unfold from a distance thinking about the Indian maintenance crew standing on the ramp next to an empty parking spot, aircraft ladder laid on the ground, the pilot’s belongings still in his rental car. I suppose each of us contemplated their new reality that came in an instant.”
The Tejas jet plunged nose-first into the ground, erupting into a cloud of black smoke and flames at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport. Syal was scheduled to fly an eight-minute demonstration at the prestigious aviation event.
His mortal remains were cremated Sunday in his ancestral village in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, after being received with full military honours at the Sulur Air Force Base in Tamil Nadu. The Indian Air Force hailed the officer as a “dedicated fighter pilot” and “a thorough professional” who served the nation with “unwavering commitment, exceptional skill and an unyielding sense of duty”.
Friday’s tragedy marked the second crash involving the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft in under two years. The previous incident occurred on March 12, 2024, when a Tejas jet went down near a residential area in Jaisalmer while returning from the tri-services exercise ‘Bharat Shakti’ in the Pokhran region.
