A newly released video from the Dubai Air Show 2025 provides a graphic look at the final moments of Wing Commander Namansh Syal during the Tejas fighter jet crash. The footage shows the aircraft losing stability during a demanding low-level maneuver, leading to a rapid descent. Wing Commander Syal, 37, from Himachal Pradesh, ejected in what appears to be the final available second. However, the jet impacted the ground before his parachute could deploy, causing a massive explosion. The video clip has gone viral, offering a clear, unedited view of the catastrophic event.
The sequence shows the Tejas performing a tight barrel turn at an exceptionally low altitude. Reports suggest a loss of control following a negative-G maneuver sent the aircraft plummeting towards the runway. A flash of light, indicating the ejection of the pilot, is visible around the 49- to 52-second mark. This visual confirms Syal activated his ejection seat when the aircraft was critically close to the ground. Aviation specialists theorize that Syal, likely aiming to save the aircraft given the Tejas’s strong safety record, attempted to regain control before concluding that ejection was his sole option. The extreme low altitude, however, made successful parachute deployment impossible.
This devastating crash is the first fatality recorded in the Tejas program over its ten-year operational lifespan. In contrast, a previous Tejas incident near Jaisalmer in March 2024 saw the pilot survive. Wing Commander Syal, from Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, was a devoted family man, survived by his wife, a retired wing commander, and their seven-year-old daughter. He was seen in a photograph with a defence minister just hours before the accident. His body has been repatriated to Gaggal Airport, with arrangements made for a full state and military funeral in Kangra, a somber occasion for his home state and the entire nation.