The Indian Air Force and the global aviation community were left in mourning after Wing Commander Namansh Syal lost his life in a tragic crash involving the Tejas fighter jet during a display at the Dubai Air Show 2025 last week. The aircraft, performing an eight-minute aerobatic routine, failed to recover from a low-altitude negative-G turn and plunged to the ground in front of thousands of spectators at Al Maktoum International Airport.
As news of the tragedy spread, tributes poured in from across India and abroad. The Emirati Defence Forces rendered a ceremonial guard of honour, acknowledging the Indian pilot’s courage. In a rare emotional gesture, Russia’s elite aerobatic team, The Russian Knights also dedicated an entire routine to Syal, calling him a “brother in the skies.”
The Russian aerobatic team described the moments after the Tejas crash as “impossible to describe,” adding that their decision to continue the display was made “in memory of the brothers who did not return from the last flight.”
Wing Commander Syal’s return to hometown for the last time
Wing Commander Syal’s mortal remains were flown from Dubai to Sulur Air Base in Tamil Nadu, where senior officers and district officials paid floral tributes. From there, the coffin began its solemn journey to Patialkar village in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, his birthplace, and now the place of his final rest.
Mortal remains of Wing Commander Namansh Syal, 34, were cremated with full military honours at his native village.
Villagers lined the roads, many in tears, as the tricolour-wrapped coffin arrived on Sunday (November 23, 2025). His schoolmate, Pankaj Chadha, said, “We have lost one of our gems. He made all of us proud.” Another villager, Sandeep Kumar, recalled meeting Syal just months earlier, never imagining it would be the last time.
At the ancestral home, the most heart-rending moment came when his wife, Wing Commander Afshan, herself an IAF officer, stood before her husband’s coffin in uniform and offered her final salute, her eyes filled with grief, pride, and heartbreak. Their seven-year-old daughter Aarya, and his parents stood by her side as the family braced itself for the rituals to follow.
Who was Wing Commander Namansh Syal behind the uniform?
37-year-old Syal belonged to a family steeped in service. His father, Jagannath Syal, an ex-serviceman turned teacher, and his wife, Afshan, an IAF officer posted at Sulur, embody the military legacy he proudly carried forward. A graduate of Sainik School Sujanpur Tira, the National Defence Academy, and an ace trainee of the Hunter Squadron at the Air Force Academy, he earned his wings with distinction.
He was known as a disciplined officer, a quiet achiever, and an exceptional athlete. At the time of his demise, he served with No. 45 Squadron – the “Flying Daggers” – the frontline unit operating India’s indigenous fighter jet.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called his passing “deeply anguishing,” while Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan affirmed the armed forces’ solidarity with the bereaved family. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu described Syal as “a courageous and dutiful son of Kangra.”
A nation has lost a brave pilot, but a village has lost a son, a wife her companion, and a child her father. While Wing Commander Namansh Syal’s final flight ended in tragedy, his legacy soars.