Group Captain Varun Singh

Some Lesser Known Facts About Group Captain Varun Singh

• Group Captain Varun Singh was an Indian Air Force officer, who served as the directing staff of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) in Wellington, Tamil Nadu. He died of severe burns on 15 December 2021 at Bengaluru Military Hospital, where he was being treated after the aircraft crash that killed CDS Bipin Rawat and 12 more on 8 December 2021.

• Singh joined Defence Services after he got selected in NDA in 2004. He was a test pilot with the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Squadron in IAF in Bengaluru and was appointed the Wing Commander on 19 June 2017 before being promoted to IAF Group Captain. ^[2]India Today

• Varun Singh was the nephew of Congress leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh.

• In September 2021, Group Captain Singh wrote a letter to the students of his school in which he revealed that he was an average student who barely scored first division in the 12th standard, but he was passionate about airplanes and aviation. ^[3]The Hindu He wrote:
  

  I was a very average student who barely scored first division in 12 class. Even though I was made the Discipline Prefect in 12th I was equally average even in sports and other co-curricular activities. But I had a passion for airplanes and aviation.”

• On 15 August 2021, the country’s third-highest gallantry medal, Shaurya Chakra, was conferred to Varun who was a Wing Commander with the Tejas fighter squadron of the IAF at the time. He was honoured by President Ram Nath Kovind for his courage in handling his Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas fighter during an emergency on 12 October 2020. The aircraft developed a system failure and major technical issues during Singh’s sortie, which resulted in a total loss of control, but Varun managed to regain control of the aircraft and landed his Tejas fighter safely despite the mid-air emergency at around 10,000 feet. ^[4]The Indian Express Ministry of Defence stated that the cockpit pressurisation failed at high altitudes. It released a statement which read: ^[5]The Quint
  

  He [Varun Singh] correctly identified the failure and initiated a descent to lower altitude for landing. While descending, the Flight Control System failed and led to total loss of control of the aircraft. This was an unprecedented catastrophic failure that had never occurred… Despite being in extreme physical and mental stress in an extreme life-threatening situation, he maintained exemplary composure and regained control of the aircraft, thereby exhibiting exceptional flying skill.”

• In the letter to students of his school, dated 18 September 2021, Group Captain Singh wrote: ^[6]The Hindu
  

  I credit this prestigious award [Shaurya Chakra] to all those I have been associated with over the years in school, NDA and thereafter the Air Force, as I firmly believe that my actions that day were a result of the grooming and mentoring by my teachers. instructors and peers over the years.”

• On 8 December 2021, the Group Captain met with a tragic accident when an IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter from Delhi to Sulur, carrying Varun, the Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Madhulika Rawat (Bipin Rawat’s wife), and 11 more crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu. According to IAF, Singh was accompanying in the helicopter as a liaison officer and was the lone survivor out of the 14 officers on board. The Group Captain had 80-85 per cent burns, and he was put on life support. He was initially being treated for severe burn injuries at the military hospital in Wellington but later, he was shifted to Bengaluru. ^[7]Business Standard Some sources also stated that Singh was conscious before being taken to the hospital and asked to speak to his wife. His family was in Mumbai when the accident happened. ^[8]India Today

• Apart from CDS Rawat and his wife, all the officers that were killed in the ill-fated crash include Brigadier LS Lidder, Defence Adviser to Chief of Defence Staff, Lt Colonel Harjinder Singh, NK Gursewak Singh, NK Jitendra Kumar, Vivek Kumar, Lance Naik B Sai Teja, and Hav Satpal. ^[9]The Quint

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, among others, tweeted, expressing their grief on the lives lost and wishing for the speedy recovery of Varun Singh.