Rahul Nair

Biography

Lieutenant Commander Rahul Nair was born on 4 November 1976 in Kerala. Growing up with a childhood aspiration to join the armed forces, he cleared the NDA examination and attended the Naval Academy. After commissioning as a Sub Lieutenant, he trained as a fighter pilot including experience on MiG-21s at Air Force Station Chabua. He was selected for the prestigious Sagar Pawan Naval Aerobatic Team. On 3 March 2010, during the India Aviation 2010 airshow at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad, he was co-pilot in the Sagar Pawan formation performing a downward bomb burst maneuver. When the Kiran aircraft failed to recover, Lt Cdr Nair ejected but his parachute became entangled in high-tension wires. He made the supreme sacrifice at the age of 33.