Indian Air Force pilot crashes plane to save village
Air Commodore Sanjai Chauhan chose not to eject over a Gujarat village, and went down with his fighter jet in a barren field
16:19 June 6, 2018
Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Air Commodore Sanjay Chauhan
Image CreditTwitter
By Sanya Nayeem, Deputy Social Media Editor
Dubai: The hashtag #HeroesInUniform is trending on twitter India, with accolades pouring in, because of the bravery of Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Air Commodore Sanjay Chauhan.
When he had a choice to save himself or hundreds others, he didn’t hesitate.
He took off from the Jamnagar Air Force base in Gujarat, India, on a routine training mission yesterday. But at around 10.30am, he went down with his Jaguar fighter aircraft in a barren plot of land in Gujarat’s Kutch district.
The fact that the crash site was barren was not a coincidence.
Chauhan’s colleagues in the Indian Armyߒ?and Air Force shared what happened on twitter.
Major Surendra Poonia @majorpoonia, a Special Forces veteran, tweeted: “This is what I call - A Real Hero! Air commodore Sanjay Chauhan died in a Jaguar crash. He didn’t eject because aircraft was over the village and could have taken many lives, so he went down with his plane! RIP.ߌ?Salute you sir for your unconditional services for motherland.”
Prashant Dhanani @PJDhanani tweeted: “Such real life heroes help us think beyond self. May his soul rest in peace. Not ejecting to save one’s life because the aircraft would have fallen over a village and killed several people. Ufff... What a man was #AirForceaircommodore #SanjayChauhan! #RIP.”
Residents of Beraja village in Mundra taluka found the debris of the aircraft and informed local authorities about the incident.
On Tuesday morning, defence spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Manish Ojha released a statement: “Today (Tuesday) morning a Jaguar aircraft on a routine training mission from Jamnagar crashed around 10.30am. The pilot AOC Sanjay Chauhan sustained fatal injuries during the crash.”
A court of inquiry into the incident has been ordered. In New Delhi yesterday, Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began a press conference by observing a minute of silence to honour Chauhan.
Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani @vijayrupanibjp tweeted: “Pained to learn about the accident of the IAF Jaguar in Kutch’s Mundra while on a training mission. Sad to hear the heartbreaking news of Air Cmde Sanjay Chauhan untimely death in the accident. My prayer for the departed soul and condolences to his family members.”
Tributes to the pilot continue pouring in on social media.
A retired brigadier, Arun Bajpai @arunbajpai tweeted: “Air Commodore Sanjay Chauhan flaying Jaguar fighter could have bailed out safely he did not do it because at that time he was flying over populated area... lot of civilians would have been killed. He tried to guide plane away died in bargain. Great courage, salute him.”
@nirmiththakur tweeted: “Salute to braveheart of Indian Air Force Late Air Commodore Sanjay Chauhan who chose to go down with his Jaguar to save life of the villagers. The supreme sacrifice of putting humankind before self. This is the standard of Indian Forces.”
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