A K Singh

Biography

Master Warrant Officer A K Singh hailed from Mubarakpur village in the Marhaura subdivision of Saran district in Bihar. He was enrolled into the Indian Air Force in July 1984 and went on to serve for over three decades, working at various Air Force bases and operating diverse aircraft and associated systems. During his long career he also qualified and served as a flight gunner, a role in which he functioned for many years, earning a reputation as a professionally competent air warrior. In October 2017, MWO A K Singh was serving with 157 Helicopter Unit, equipped with the Mi-17 V5 helicopter and based at Air Force Station Barrackpore in West Bengal. At the time, numerous Indian Army units were deployed in far-flung areas of the northeast sector where no motorable roads existed, leaving these posts almost entirely dependent on air maintenance operations for their supplies. On 6 October 2017, MWO A K Singh was detailed as flight gunner for one such air maintenance mission, flying with pilots Wing Commander Vikas Upadhyay and Squadron Leader Shishir Tewari, flight gunner Sergeant Satish Kumar, flight engineer Sergeant Gautam Kumar, and two Army personnel, Sepoy H N Deka and Sepoy E Balaji. The helicopter took off from Khirmu helipad in Tawang district, carrying supplies to forward posts in the Topokhar area near Yangtse. It was the second air maintenance sortie of the day over that forward area. At around 6 AM, as supplies were being dropped about 120 km north of Tawang, the net holding jerry cans of kerosene became entangled in the aircraft's rear rotor. The chopper caught fire instantly and crashed, giving the crew no chance to react. Master Warrant Officer A K Singh and all six other military personnel on board laid down their lives in the service of the nation.