HAL Tejas aircraft crash: Wing Commander Afshan breaks down during funeral of husband and IAF pilot Namansh Syal

HAL Tejas aircraft crash: Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Afshan Akhtar paid her last respects to her husband and IAF pilot, Wing Commander Namansh Syal, on 23 November, ANI reported.

She saluted Syal's body and mourned as the last rites took place in Himachal Pradesh. Syal died when an indigenous multi-role Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas crashed during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show on 21 November.

Who was Wing Commander Namansh Syal?

The IAF and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, on 21 November, identified Namansh Syal as the pilot killed in the unfortunate crash earlier the same day. Sukhu said Syal hailed from Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh.

Wing Commander Namansh Syal's last rites are being conducted in his ancestral village of Patialkar in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. According to an ANI report, the 34-year-old fighter pilot was a dedicated officer and an outstanding athlete.

He is survived by his wife Afshan Akhtar, also an IAF officer, their six-year-old daughter Aarya, and his parents.

Mourning his death, Syal's uncle Madan Lal recalled his childhood: “He was my nephew. The whole village is mourning and waiting for his mortal remains to arrive. The last rites will be performed today. This is a huge loss for the nation. He had a sharp mind and stood first in school,” Lal told ANI.

Mortal remains taken to ancestral home for last rites

The IAF flew Syal's mortal remains to his ancestral home in Himachal Pradesh after a brief halt at the Air Force base near Coimbatore on 23 November, PTI reported, citing details from the IAF.

An IAF C-130 aircraft brought his remains to Sulur Air Force Base in Tamil Nadu early on 23 November, where personnel received them with full military honours, it added.

“The Indian Air Force undertook the solemn repatriation of the mortal remains of Wing Commander Namansh Syal, who sustained fatal injuries in an accident during the aerial display at the Dubai Air Show 2025,” the IAF said in an update on 23 November.

“After a dignified ceremony (in Sulur), the mortal remains have now been flown to the family's ancestral home in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, for the last rites with full military honours. All personnel of Southern Air Command stand in solidarity with the bereaved family in this moment of profound loss,” it added.

Tejas fighter aircraft crash: What we know so far

• The IAF confirmed that Syal died when the HAL Tejas jet crashed and burst into flames around 2.10 pm local time during a flight demonstration on the last day of the Dubai Air Show 2025 at the AI Maktoum International Airport.
• The IAF said it has constituted a court of inquiry to probe the cause of the accident.
• This was the second crash involving the HAL Tejas fighter aircraft in 20 months. The jet first flew in 2001.
• The earlier crash of the HAL Tejas jet was reported in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, on 12 March 2024. The jet crashed near a residential colony while returning from the tri-services military exercise ‘Bharat Shakti’ near Pokhran Desert. The pilot ejected safely.

(With inputs from Agencies)