What was meant to be a proud moment for India's indigenous aviation programme turned into national heartbreak on Friday afternoon when an IAF Tejas fighter jet crashed during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show. The aircraft went down at around 2:10 pm local time, exploding in a massive ball of fire just moments after completing a low-altitude manoeuvre.

The lone pilot, Wing Commander Namansh Syal, in his mid-30s and hailing from Himachal Pradesh, was killed in the crash. Shocked spectators watched helplessly as thick black smoke billowed from the impact site near Al Maktoum International Airport. Video footage that has since gone viral shows the jet dropping altitude abruptly before nosediving into the ground.

For many present, the emotion was overwhelming.

“It was a wonderful show until this tragic accident occurred... I strongly feel the pilot tried to save the spectators,” Indian expat Shajudheen Jabbar told local media, recalling the horrifying moment.

“We Lost a Brave Soldier”: Air Marshal Anil Chopra

Speaking exclusively to Asianet Newsable English's Heena Sharma, Air Marshal Anil Chopra (Retd) described the day as tragic not just for the IAF but for the nation's aerospace journey.

“It has been an extremely tragic and unfortunate accident in a foreign soil with the indigenous aircraft single-engine fighter."

He stressed that both the aircraft and the pilot had sterling credentials:

“The program, which was going extremely well till now, had a high safety record. The pilot was a very, very professional pilot who had been specially selected, trained and had practiced aerobatic maneuvers and displayed profile for many, many times," he said.

“We lost a brave soldier. Our condolences and salute to the family,” he added in a sombre note.

Wing Commander Syal was a highly trained display pilot, specially selected and thoroughly rehearsed for the aerobatic sortie he was performing. The demonstration was scheduled to last eight minutes.

Tejas vs Pakistan's Online Posturing

Within minutes, coordinated social media propaganda-particularly from Pakistani accounts-attempted to attack India's aviation programme. Chopra dismissed this with characteristic bluntness:

He reminded that Pakistan had suffered a recent military setback:

“They just had a beating from the Indian Air Force in Operation Sindoor. Nearly 20% of the Pakistani Air Force was destroyed and their capabilities have been sent backwards.”

While some Pakistani veterans responded with dignity, Chopra said the noise online was extremely limited:

“Mind you, it's a very small minuscule numbers who are talking like this. There have been a few, very few, very mature comments by some of the Pakistani Air Force pilots too.”

By contrast, Tejas' accident history remains considerably cleaner:

“As you rightly mentioned, safety records-yes, they have lost five or six JF-17. This is our second accident.”

Tejas vs JF-17:“A Different Class of Aircraft”

Chopra methodically explained why Tejas is not comparable to Pakistan's JF-17:

“Tejas is a different class of aircraft... overall, the aircraft is a 4.5 generation, much ahead of the JF-17.”

He also reminded that JF-17 is heavily dependent on external technology:

“The basic technology, the engine, the radar, everything is from outside... it was possible mainly because of China's direct support.”

Tejas, by contrast, has been built with far greater indigenous effort-even if it imports the engine:

“We are also dependent for the engine on the Americans for GE404 engine, but overall the aircraft is much ahead.”

What the Videos Show

While speculation online grew rapidly, Chopra urged restraint:

“It's been little over 24 hours and conjecturing is very, very difficult... one should be very careful when...the person who has to defend himself...is not there anymore.”

Still, he acknowledged observable facts from footage:

“We all saw that he did a outside turn where there's a negative G involved... thereafter, he had to do a repositioning turn.”

Then came the crucial moment:

“In that down maneuver, obviously, he has either run out of height. Why he's run out of height...we do not know.”

Possible causes remain wide open:

“Was there a technical problem? Was there a control problem? Was there an engine thrust reduction? We really do not know.”

He noted the jet's final seconds:

“From the video, you can make out that the aircraft's nose is not rotating fast enough... The aircraft has hit the ground with fairly high speed.”

Court of Inquiry Already Deep in Motion

Chopra laid out the detailed, scientific method the IAF will follow:

“Court of inquiry normally does a very fine tooth comb... the flight data recorder has already been retrieved.”

He described what investigators examine:

“They will look at sabotage, they will look at hydraulic and fuel samples... They will look at the pilot's medical status, his medical history.”

Finally, video and telemetry will be synched for second-by-second analysis:

“The FDR will be played along with the videos... and then we will come to know, step by step, what were the control positions, what was the status of the engine, what was the G the aircraft was pulling, what was its altitude.”

Could the Weather Be to Blame?

Some aviation commenters pointed at haze on the runway that day. Chopra dismissed the theory completely:

“The weather was very good... If we could see the aircraft all the time through the maneuvers, that means visibility was very good.”

He described the level of weather monitoring in airshows:

“There's a very detailed briefing by the flying display director... The weather is available online to all the pilots all the time.”

If conditions had been unsafe:

“He has the right to veto the display. But that was not the case in this particular incident.”

Could Spatial Disorientation Be a Factor?

If no technical cause appears in the data, physiological effects will be examined:

“Spatial disorientation is possible... You are doing a 3D maneuver.”

Chopra explained the biological strain pilots face:

“In a negative G maneuver, the blood goes from bottom to up, towards your head. Whereas in positive high G, it goes from head towards your legs.”

But he remained disciplined in his analysis:

“What has actually happened will only be known from the court of inquiry.”

The Engine Debate-And Why GE404 Was Chosen

He strongly rejected the theory that the engine was substandard:

“GE404 is a proven, tested engine. There is no doubt about the quality of the engine.”

He explained that the IAF does not fly aircraft unless fully mission-ready:

“When the aircraft is sent for a flight, the aircraft is 100% serviceable-even if it was the MiG-21.”

However, he was honest that no mechanical system is failure-proof:

“The risk of having a technical failure reduces, but it cannot be eliminated.”

The Larger Program Will Not Slow Down

Even after the crash, Chopra was categorical:

“Nothing like that is going to happen. We, as a nation, is committed to LCA Mark 1.”

And more importantly:“LCA has to succeed. The Mark 1A and Mark 2 have to come out quickly.”

Tejas is not just a fighter-it represents India's aerospace aspirations:

“The AMCA has to succeed if we want to sit on the global high table of defence production.”

The Need for a Made-in-India Fighter Engine

For India to reach that“high table,” Chopra stressed one critical requirement:

“Undoubtedly... the engine is a very important part of the aircraft.”

Today, only a few nations make advanced fighter engines. India wants to join that club:

“The prime minister himself has taken a call... most probably with Safran of France, we are going to do joint work.”

The goal is autonomy:“They will make an engine which will have intellectual property rights of the Indian government.”

And in the future:“That engine will ultimately power the AMCA, the fifth-generation aircraft.”

The Pressure of Display Flying

Many forget that airshow flying is among the most dangerous operations in military aviation. Chopra reminded:

“During display, you're trying to fly the aircraft to the edge of the envelope... you're also flying pretty close to the ground.”

Add speed, high G forces, aerodynamic limits-and the margin for error narrows.

This was not the first airshow crash in history, nor will it be the last:

“If you see in the last 60–70 years since fighters have been doing displays, every third, fourth year, there's been some crash somewhere.”

The Road Ahead

For the IAF, the loss of Wing Commander Syal is immeasurable. For the Tejas programme, the tragedy is a deep emotional setback-but not a derailment.

Production lines are expanding, new variants coming online, and squadrons are preparing for deployment across front-line bases:

“Indian Air Force is very eagerly waiting for the LCA Mark 1A to join. And this will be positioned at the front line bases in Rajasthan and Punjab.”

The aircraft is set to become the backbone of the IAF-and the crash, painful as it was, has not altered that trajectory.

The Final Word

India lost a skilled pilot-one who represented the highest standards of training and professionalism.

Air Marshal Chopra perhaps said it best:“Anything can happen... but what has actually happened will only be known from the court of inquiry.”

Until then, the country grieves-not just the crash, but the young pilot who never returned from his final flight.

A hero in uniform. An aircraft that symbolises a nation's aerospace dreams. And an investigation now tasked with uncovering the truth, second by second.

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