Bhanu Pratap Pachauri

Biography

Squadron Leader Bhanu Pratap Pachauri was born on 31 July 1956 in Uttar Pradesh, into a modest family of teachers. He completed his schooling at Etah and later at another town, went on to earn a B.Sc., and realised his dream of joining the Air Force when he entered the Air Force Academy in 1979. Originally part of No. 123 Pilot Course, a fracture led to his graduating with No. 124 Pilot Course from the primary flying school at Bidar. Commissioned as a fighter pilot in 1980, he was posted to Hasimara to fly the mighty Hunters before joining his first fighter squadron, No. 27. He later converted to the MiG-21 Bis in 1984 and flew with Nos. 32, 23 and 26 Squadrons, qualifying as a Fighter Combat Leader and attending the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. By 1994 he had over 14 years of service and more than 1,900 hours on fighter aircraft. As Flight Commander of 26 Squadron at Pathankot, he took keen interest in training young pilots. On 19 July 1994, while flying a MiG-21 trainer with Fg Offr Sumit Malhotra, contact was lost and the aircraft crashed into the hills near the Jammu & Kashmir–Punjab–Himachal border. Both pilots lost their lives, and Squadron Leader Pachauri made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.