Caught on camera: Wing Commander Namansh Syal’s final video just hours before fatal Tejas crash

The IAF’s Tejas fighter jet, an indigenous multi-role Light Combat Aircraft, crashed during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show on Friday, killing the pilot.

The IAF identified the deceased pilot as Wing Commander Namansh Syal, who hailed from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh. He was commissioned into the IAF in December 2009 and was from 184th Course.

A video is now being widely circulated online, capturing the pilot in high spirits while interacting with officials just hours before the tragic Tejas crash. In the footage, Syal can be seen smiling and conversing, and then posing for a group photo with India’s Defence Minister of State Sanjay Seth, India’s Ambassador to the UAE Deepak Mittal, Additional Secretary (Gulf) Aseem Mahajan and other dignitaries.

The single-engine light weight aircraft crashed around 2.10 pm local time (3.40 pm IST) after the pilot had flown across the site during the demonstration flight. The aerial display of Tejas was scheduled to last eight minutes. Black smoke billowed over the Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central as horrified spectators watched in shock.

Related news: Kangra mourns loss of pilot Namansh Syal in Tejas crash at Dubai Air Show

Pilot from Himachal's Kangra dies as Tejas fighter jet crashes at Dubai Air Show

In the last 20 months, this is the second time that the aircraft manufactured by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was involved in a crash. The earlier accident occurred in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, in March last year, but the pilot managed to eject safely.