In this combo of screenshots from a third party video, a fighter jet Tejas of the Indian Air Force is seen dropping altitude and then crashing on the ground, engulfed in a ball of fire, during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show. The pilot died in the accident, according to officials.
| Photo Credit: Third Party via PTI
State-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the manufacturer of Tejas aircraft, on Friday (November 21, 2025) said it was deeply saddened by the loss of life of the “courageous IAF pilot” during the aerial display at the Dubai Air Show.
The pilot has been identified as Wing Commander Namansh Syal.
He was killed on Friday after the indigenous multi-role Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Tejas, crashed in a ball of fire during the aerial display at the Dubai Air Show.
It was the second time in 20 months that the aircraft manufactured by HAL was involved in a crash. The earlier accident occurred in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan in March last year, but the pilot ejected safely.
“HAL is deeply saddened by the loss of the courageous IAF pilot during the aerial display at the Dubai Air Show. HAL expresses its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. @IAF_MCC @SpokespersonMoD @DefProdnIndia,” HAL posted on X.
As the crash inside the grounds of an airfield in Dubai cast a tragic shadow on an otherwise mega spectacle on the last day of the event in the desert city, visuals of the accident aired on TV channels showed the jet abruptly dropping height after what looked like a low-altitude manoeuvre and then nosedived into the ground in a matter of seconds before being engulfed in a ball of fire.
Black smoke billowed over the Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, as horrified spectators, including women and children, seated at a grandstand area behind a fenced airstrip, watched in shock.
The project to build the Tejas aircraft finally took off in 1984 after years of deliberations, and the jet was formally declared fit to fly in 2011.
The IAF test crew have been involved with the Tejas project right from the conceptual stage till prototype testing. The first version of the aircraft was inducted into the IAF in 2016.
In February 2021, the Defence Ministry sealed a ₹48,000 crore deal with HAL for the procurement of 83 Tejas MK-1A jets for the IAF.
In November 2023, the ministry had accorded an initial approval to procure an additional batch of 97 Tejas jets for the IAF.
Published – November 22, 2025 09:52 am IST
