Joginder Singh, VM

Biography

Wing Commander Joginder Singh hailed from Punjab and was born on 1 February 1936. He was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the Indian Air Force on 19 December 1959 at the age of 22. Joining the flying stream, he trained as a Navigator as part of the 14 NAV course, and thereafter served at various Air Force bases, gaining experience in a wide range of air operations. In 1971, as a Squadron Leader, he was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal for his courage, professional skill and devotion to duty. By 1977 he had completed around 18 years of service and had evolved into a highly competent navigator with expertise across diverse air operations. In November 1977, Wing Commander Joginder Singh was serving with the Air Headquarters Communication Squadron, based at Air Force Station Palam, whose primary role was to convey VVIPs and visiting foreign dignitaries. On 4 November 1977, Prime Minister Morarji Desai was scheduled to fly from Delhi to Jorhat, Assam, aboard the Russian-made TU-124 jet named Pushpak. Joginder Singh was selected as navigator for the mission. Approaching Jorhat in darkness and heavy cloud cover, and without the ground equipment to support the aircraft's Instrument Landing System, he skilfully used direction finders and flight data to guide the pilots to the airfield. During a second landing attempt, the aircraft's landing gear struck a tree top, damaging the nose landing gear. To protect the passengers, the crew chose a crash landing in a soft paddy field, with the cockpit bearing the maximum impact. The Prime Minister and his entourage survived, but the crew perished. Wing Commander Joginder Singh laid down his life in the line of duty, a committed soldier and gallant air warrior.