www.uninews.com

Kargil war hero makes a remarkable comeback

Srinagar, Aug 17 (UNI)

The MiG-27 fighter aircraft flew by Flight Lieutenant K Nachiketa was shot down by the Pakistan Army during the 1999 Kargil conflict, and he sustained a spinal injury while ejecting and was taken prisoner by the enemy troops before being released.

Many thought his career was over, but he proved them all wrong, a defence spokesman said.

Today, a squadron leader flying AN-32 transport aircraft, Nachiketa has been approved for promotion to a wing commander, he added.

‘‘He could rise even higher. I would even say that depending on the circumstances, he could even make (IAF) chief Western Air Command’s Air Officer Commanding-in- chief,’’ Air Marshal A K Singh said.

The spokesman said Nachiketa is one of the very few IAF pilots to have returned after their aircraft crashed in the enemy territory. He was shot down on May 28, 1999, and held captive for weak before being released on June 4, he added.

Nachiketa was later diagnosed with a compression fracture in the back, meaning he could never fly fighters again, the spokesman said.

However, after a series of remedial measures and retraining, he has been flying AN-24s since 2004 and is at present posted with the Chandigarh-based 48 Squadron, he added.

Narrating the sequence of events on the day he crashed, Nachiketa said: ‘‘I had a technical problem with the engine; my engine shut and I had to re-ignite. But, you have to be flying at a certain height before you can do so.’’

‘‘In my case, since I was flying over a terrain of five plus km, I did not have the adequate height. As a result, I had to eject. About two to three hours after I ejected, I was ambushed and there was a fire fight. The regular Pakistani Army troops fired at me, I fired back. Eventually, I was captured. I had one pistol against five-six AK-56s,’’ he said.

‘‘After about a two-hour halt at a place in the Batalik sector, I was taken by a helicopter to Skardu. After a night halt, I was shifted to Rawalpindi. I stayed there for four days. Thereafter, a decision to release me was taken and I came back via the Wagah border,’’ Nachiketa said.

Asked if it was wise to have flown an aircraft such as the MiG-27 in the mountainous Kargil terrain, he said, ‘‘I think that is for the policy makers to decide. We just do whatever is best for us. With the available intelligence at that time, we thought it was a good decision.’’

Asked how his captors treated him, he said: ‘‘They took it in two phases. First they declared me uncooperative. Then it became quite bad. I don’t want to go into the specifics.’’

‘‘They asked me about our forces, their deployment, the kind of avionics and ammunition that we have,’’ Nachiketa said and replied in the affirmative when asked if he expected to come back after being captured.

‘‘Absolutely not. As per our background, from 1971 what we have seen, no one generally comes back,’’ he said.

‘‘The only thing I was planning from my side was escape. But that takes time. Initially, there is high security, and then slowly there is dilution. Being released by Pakistan was a surprise.’’

‘‘In all our training, starting from the cadet days, the entire focus is on survival. In the air force, we have a special survival course for aircrew so that we are better prepared to handle such eventualities,’’ Nachiketa said.

Asked if he missed flying fighters, Nachiketa said, ‘‘Definitely. But, then, even this flying is very good. In fact, all flying is very good and very challenging - be it fighters, helicopters, or transports.’’

‘‘I think I have reconciled (myself to not flying fighters) because, from a broader perspective, I think life has got much more than fighters,’’ he added.