A newly surfaced, chilling zoomed-in video has captured the final moments of the Tejas fighter jet before it crashed during an aerobatic display at the Dubai Airshow on Friday. The footage shows the aircraft attempting a series of low-level manoeuvres before suddenly spiralling downward and erupting into a massive fireball upon impact.
The Indian Air Force’s HAL Tejas LCA Mk-1, performing at Al-Maktoum International Airport, went down during its flying display on the concluding day of the Dubai Airshow 2025. The pilot, Wing Commander Namansh Syal, lost his life in the crash.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Wing Commander Syal, 37, known for his precision flying and adventurous spirit, was executing a low-altitude stunt when the aircraft abruptly lost altitude and crashed. A close-up video shows the jet twisting through a couple of turns before entering a fatal free fall. A towering plume of smoke and dust shot up as the plane hit the ground, followed moments later by flames engulfing the crash site.
Another video has since emerged, showing Wing Commander Syal interacting with dignitaries at the event, including Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, India’s Ambassador to the UAE Deepak Mittal, and MEA Additional Secretary (Gulf) Aseem R Mahajan. It remains unclear when the clip was recorded during the Airshow, which began on November 17 and was scheduled to end on November 21.
Hailing from Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, Syal is survived by his wife—also an IAF officer—their six-year-old daughter, and his parents.
Defence expert Captain (Retd.) Anil Gaur said the crash may have resulted from the pilot losing control or blacking out due to intense gravitational forces. While pilots wear G-suits to prevent blood from pooling in the lower body, any malfunction could prove catastrophic during tight manoeuvres. The precise cause will only be known after investigators retrieve and analyse the cockpit data, he added, while expressing condolences to the bereaved family.
