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Wing Commander Namansh Syal: Indian Air Force’s Tejas aircraft crashed at the Dubai Air Show yesterday afternoon. We also lost one of our wing commanders in this accident.
22 November, 2025
Wing Commander Namansh Syal: The glamor of the Dubai Air Show faded when the Tejas aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed during an aerial show. 37 year old Wing Commander Namansh Syal lost his life in this accident. Confirming this tragic incident, the Indian Air Force said that it stands strongly with the family of its brave pilot. The incident occurred on Friday when Wing Commander Syal was performing an aerobatic stunt at low altitude on the last day of the Dubai Air Show. Suddenly the Tejas plane fell downwards and within a few seconds it became a ball of fire. This accident not only shook the air show, but also created an atmosphere of mourning in the country.
Who was Namansh Syal?
Wing Commander Namansh Syal, who hailed from Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, was an experienced and respected pilot of the Indian Air Force. His wife, who herself is an officer in the Air Force. Apart from this, Syal has a 6 year old daughter and parents. Namansh did his early education from Army School, Sujanpur Tihra. On December 24, 2009, he got commission in the Indian Air Force. At the same time, relatives told that when this incident happened, Syal’s parents were at Sulur Air Force Station in Tamil Nadu. His wife was in Kolkata for training. Namansh’s father Jagannath Syal had served in the Medical Corps of the Army and later retired from the post of Principal in the Education Department.
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Wave of mourning in Himachal
His home town Himachal Pradesh is in mourning due to the news of Namansh Syal’s martyrdom. Paying tribute to him, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu wrote – The country has lost a courageous and dutiful pilot. Apart from this, Ex Chief Minister Jairam Thakur also described this accident as very painful.
How did the accident happen?
Dubai Air Show is one of the largest aviation events in the world, where more than 150 countries showcase their air power. The program took place on 17 November. Wing Commander Syal Tejas was demonstrating with LCA MK-1. However, the plane dived rapidly and crashed. In the video posted on social media, a huge plume of smoke was seen emerging in the sky after the explosion. By the way, this is the second major accident of Tejas. Earlier in March 2024, Tejas had crashed during a training flight near Jaisalmer. However, at that time the pilots had come out safely. At the same time, the Air Force has constituted a Court of Inquiry to investigate this accident, which will investigate how the accident happened. At present, the entire country salutes the martyrdom of this brave pilot, who lost his life while performing his duty in the heights of the sky.
Also read: ‘Tejas’ crashed during demonstration at the air show in Dubai, black smoke rose from the airport
