Tejas Crash: Native Village Remembers Namansh Syal As 'Humble Man' As They Prepare For Last Rites

The Patiyalkar village in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra is mourning the demise of Wing Commander Namansh Syal, who died in the Tejas fighter jet crash at the Dubai Air Show on Friday.

Syal died on the spot as he didn't eject from the indigenous combat aircraft during the high-speed demonstration flight. Former village Pradhan of Patiyalkar village, Shash Dhiman, said that his mortal remains will reach Chennai on Saturday evening and be brought to the native village. The last rites will be held in the native village only.

While talking to news agency ANI, he added that whole of the whole village is grieving since the news of the fatal crash was received.

Another resident of the Patiyalkar village and Syal's neighbour, Lekhraj, said, "He was our village's son. He was a wing commander on a very good post... The entire village is grieving..."

Ramesh Kumar, who was in the village, said, "He's my brother-in-law... He was supposed to get a promotion. At 34, he was a squadron leader. He was a very humble man. The entire village is sad..."

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Syal's uncle, Joginder Nath Sayal, said, "I got a call from my brother around 3 pm, and he told me about the crash... He was my brother's son. He got married in 2014 and has a daughter..." 

The crash took place at 2:08 PM (local time) on Friday when the fighter jet was performing an aerial manoeuvre in front of an international audience. The eyewitnesses said that the jet pulled up into a planned loop and flipped into an inverted position.

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However, as soon as it started to descend, which is a routine sequence that typically ends with the aircraft climbing again to complete a clean arc, the aircraft failed to regain altitude and crashed.