Landing in the lap of Lord Ayyappa

Capt DP Singh Aujla retd

Updated At : 04:18 AM Mar 04, 2026 IST

IN May 1985, a maritime reconnaissance aircraft with two young pilots was reported missing over the Western Ghats. INS Garuda, the naval air station at Kochi, swung into action. I was the helicopter pilot deputed to search for the plane. Both missing pilots were occupying rooms adjacent to mine in the officers’ mess; our association went back to NDA days. The local print media was also extensively reporting the incident as the two pilots were from reputed families of Kerala.

The helicopter was positioned along Thekkady lake with a truck carrying fuel, and we started flying sorties ploughing the thick forests below. The pre-monsoon period had set in over the southern peninsula, with accompanying thundershowers and turbulence. Moisture emanating from the Arabian Sea due to westerly winds and extreme heat are a deadly cocktail for flying operations. The adverse weather leaves no room for complacency. Those were also the days when accurate meteorological forecast was not available.

The search was not yielding any result and we started pushing ourselves more and more out of sheer desperation. Flying over the hills at an extremely low height to enable visual sighting, we went over one valley after another with a fine-tooth comb. Entering a valley, we encountered low clouds with heavy rain. Unable to continue, we decided to return to safety. Unfortunately, by this time, the entrance to the valley was also blocked by clouds and torrential rain. Like trapped mice, we started going up and down, desperately seeking an escape, but all exits were blocked. Fuel was running low and a crash seemed imminent.

Heading into a valley, I suddenly spotted a perfect helipad-shaped concrete ground. Without further ado, the helicopter was lowered amid a downpour. Luckily before switching off, we also radioed our safe landing to a civil aircraft flying overhead to avoid panic at the air station.

As the rain subsided, I came out and conversed in broken Malayalam with villagers who had gathered there. I learnt that this place was the Pamba bus stand at Sabarimala. Darkness had set in and we decided to wait for fuel supply and the sun to rise. All the guest houses were shut (it was the off season) and there were no officials to help us out. The person on duty at the Dhanalakshmi Bank was kind enough to open the premises so that we could take shelter for the night. Local residents kept a watch on the helicopter during the night to ward off elephants and other wild animals.

Next morning, we offered prayers to Lord Ayyappa. The weather improved, and after taking fuel from a drum sent in a jeep, we took off to continue our search for the missing aircraft. Sadly, the wreckage was located next day — with no survivors.

The writer served as a pilot in the Navy

Landing in the lap of Lord Ayyappa

Capt DP Singh Aujla retd

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