On July 7, 1997, exactly 25 years ago, Captain Sameer Kumar Singh of 79 NDA and 89 Regular Course took off in a Chetak helicopter from Dimapur on an important operational mission.
The National War Memorial is the country’s tribute to its brave. Image courtesy of Eatcha/Wikimedia Commons
This is a series of stories about Indian Armed Forces officers who gave their all to the motherland. We will publish these stories over the next year when these brave hearts performed in the highest traditions of the Indian Armed Forces but left us forever.
George Marshall’s quote – “The soldier’s heart, the soldier’s mind, the soldier’s soul is everything” – seems tailor-made for Captain Sameer Kumar Singh, who had a heart of gold, was extremely fiery and was a quintessential human.
On July 7, 1997, exactly 25 years ago, Captain Sameer Kumar Singh, of 79 NDA and 89 Regular Course, affectionately called SK by his classmates, took off in a Chetak helicopter from Dimapur for an important operational mission.
Captain SK Singh. Image courtesy of Lt. Col. Js Sodhi (Retired)
SK was educated at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Jorhat. He was very good in studies and was a good cricketer and basketball player. He passed out as head boy of the school.
SK came from an educated and distinguished family. Her father had graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from the first class of Pantnagar University and was a senior official in the Indian government.
SK joined the National Defense Academy, Khadakwasla, Pune, and was assigned to Bravo Squadron. After three years of training in the NDA, he went to the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun for the final year of pre-commission training and was assigned to the Alamein Company.
SK did well in both NDA and IMA, and earned great respect among his classmates due to his sincerity and willingness to sacrifice his comfort for others. For his good performance in IMA, SK was made a sergeant last term.
SK passed out from the IMA on 14 December 1991 and was commissioned into the 64 Field Regiment of Artillery. He did very well in the Young Officers Course at the Deolali Artillery School and achieved an Alpha rank in the course.
Captain SK Singh in good spirits during a course meeting. Image courtesy of Lt. Col. JS Sodhi (Retired)
During three years of Service, he volunteered for the Army Air Force and completed the pilot course where he achieved an Alpha rank.
An airman with considerable Chetak helicopter experience, SK quickly became an important member of the Reconnaissance & Observation Flight (R&O Flt) team during his first posting to an Army aviation unit in the Northeast. after obtaining the coveted Wings.
His daring and round-the-clock can-do attitude made him the apple of the eye of R&O flight and he was often given the most complex and compelling missions, which SK would execute with great gusto and ease.
On July 7, 1997, at the daily morning briefing at 5 a.m., as is customary throughout R&O Flt, the Flt Commander announced that a major operational mission was to be undertaken that day and that it involved flying in intense counter-insurgency operations. area where terrorists were known to possess missiles fired shoulder to shoulder.
The mantle of this extremely important mission fell on none other than Capt SK Singh.
After the briefing, SK and his co-pilot sprang into action and were all seated in the cockpit of the helicopter with another crew, awaiting clearance from air traffic control (ATC) before taking off.
The weather was bad that day and the weather reports were not favorable. However, the nature of the mission was such that SK did not think twice about the dangers of the mission as the call of duty in the service of the motherland was paramount, and soon he was airborne at the controls of the helicopter. Chetak.
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During the flight, the helicopter experienced turbulent weather conditions. SK skilfully tried to maneuver the helicopter with the controls. As SK flew the Chetak helicopter, the weather started to deteriorate and shortly after passing through Tadubi village in Senapati district of Manipur, they crashed on Sakrabami ridge. Technically, this is called controlled flight into terrain in aviation parlance.
The three people on board sacrificed their lives in the service of the nation.
Captain SK Singh while training to become an army airman in Nasik. Image courtesy of Lt. Col. JS Sodhi (Retired)
Just over a year before this tragic incident, SK had met his beloved, and both were to be married in December 1997. But fate had planned otherwise.
We pay tribute to Captain Sameer Kumar Singh on this solemn day. You will forever remain in our hearts and memories and you will always be an inspiration to us all. Our prayers for your eternal peace.
The writer, who retired from the Indian Army Corps of Engineers, is an alumnus of NDA, Khadakwasla and IIT Kanpur. He is an MTech in Structures, has an MBA and an LLB, and is a prolific writer and public speaker. He tweets and Koos at @JassiSodhi24. The opinions expressed are personal.
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