Clarence Joseph D'Lima, VM

Biography

Wing Commander Clarence Joseph D'Lima hailed from Goa and was born on 09 February 1938. After his schooling he was selected for the prestigious National Defence Academy and joined the 15th NDA Course, passing out on 01 December 1958. He then proceeded for flying training at the Air Force Academy and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the Indian Air Force on 28 May 1960 at the age of 22. Trained as a pilot with the 77th Pilots' Course, he was posted to the North East, where he accumulated around 2,900 flying hours, mostly on supply dropping missions over NEFA and Nagaland. In December 1963 he joined the Air Headquarters Communication Squadron. Selected for training abroad on an advanced transport aircraft, he was adjudged exceptional, and he later attended the 29th course at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. With over 6,200 hours of accident-free flying to his credit, he was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal on 26 January 1973 for his courage, professional skill and devotion to duty. By 1977 Wg Cdr D'Lima had around 17 years of service and was serving with the Air Headquarters Communication Squadron at Palam, whose role was to convey VVIPs and visiting heads of state. On 04 November 1977 he captained the TU-124 jet 'Pushpak' ferrying Prime Minister Morarji Desai and his entourage from Delhi towards Jorhat, Assam. Approaching Jorhat in darkness and under cloud cover, and lacking ground landing-aid equipment, the aircraft grazed a treetop on its second approach, damaging the nose landing gear. Rather than risk the passengers on a hard-surface landing, Wg Cdr D'Lima chose a crash landing in a soft paddy field, letting the cockpit absorb the maximum impact. The Prime Minister and all passengers survived, but the entire crew, including Wg Cdr D'Lima, made the supreme sacrifice in averting what could have been India's worst VVIP air disaster.