SHIMLA: Wing Commander Namansh Syal , who soared from the hills of Himachal to the blue above the clouds, gave up his life in the line of duty when his Tejas aircraft crashed at the Dubai Air Show on Friday.Anative of Patialkar village in Nagrota Bagwan tehsil of Kangra district, he was posted at Sulur Air Force Station in Tamil Nadu when the call-up came for his squadron to head for the air show. His father, Jagannath Syal, was an ex-Armyman who took to teaching after hanging up his boots. A warrior shaped by discipline from an early age, Namansh studied at Sainik School-Sujanpur Tira, Hamirpur, and went on to earn his place at the prestigious National Defence Academy, village sarpanch Sanjay Kumar told TOI.Namansh trained in Hunter Squadron of NDA and got his wings at Air Force Academy. He is survived by a family forged from the same steel — his wife, a retired Wing Commander, a seven-year-old daughter, his elder sister and mother. Kangra deputy commissioner Hemraj Bairwa said that the district administration learned of the tragedy through the grieving family members. Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed his condolences, calling Wing Commander Syal a courageous and dedicated pilot whose service will remain etched in the nation’s memory.
