Mohit Rana

Biography

Wing Commander Mohit Rana hailed from Sandhol village of Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh and was born on 13 February 1984. The son of army veteran Colonel Om Prakash Rana (Retd) and Smt Prabhat Rana, he grew up with a strong desire to serve in the Armed Forces, inspired by his father. Following his passion, he was selected for the prestigious National Defence Academy after completing his schooling. During his NDA tenure he excelled across the various aspects of training and earned selection for the Indian Air Force. He subsequently trained at the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad and was commissioned as a Flying Officer on 17 December 2005 as part of the 176th Pilots' Course. Inducted into the flying stream, Wing Commander Rana trained as a fighter pilot and, after completing his multi-stage flying training, joined an operational squadron and served at various Air Force bases. By 2022 he had put in around 16 years of service and had evolved into a professionally competent fighter pilot with expertise in a range of air operations, rising to serve as a Flight Commander with No 4 Squadron based at Air Force Base Uttarlai in Barmer district, Rajasthan. On the night of 28 July 2022, Wing Commander Rana undertook a training sortie for an air combat mission in a MiG-21 trainer aircraft along with Flight Lieutenant Advitiya Bal. Shortly after taking off from Uttarlai, he reported a fire in the engine and initiated emergency measures, but the aircraft burst into flames mid-air and crashed at around 2110 hrs, leaving no time to eject. It is believed the pilots attempted to steer the aircraft away from the village to minimise loss of life on the ground. Wing Commander Mohit Rana laid down his life in the service of the nation at the age of 38.