Overview
- The single-seat light combat aircraft went down around 2:10 pm local time at Al Maktoum International Airport during a flying demonstration, erupting into a fireball.
- The Indian Air Force identified the pilot as 37-year-old Wing Commander Namansh Syal from Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, as leaders and HAL offered condolences.
- Dubai’s Media Office confirmed the fatality as emergency teams secured the site, and flying displays later resumed on the show’s final day.
- The IAF said the court of inquiry will review flight data, aircraft systems and conditions to establish the cause, with no conclusions announced yet.
- The crash is the Tejas programme’s second in about 20 months, following a March 2024 incident near Jaisalmer in which the pilot ejected safely.