Recently India witnessed the anniversary of its Air Force. On such occasions, there is often mention of those personalities who have played an important role in establishing that institution or about the major events related to it. On the other hand, the reality is that many people contribute a lot in making such institutions, organizations and forces great.Unfortunately the memories related to them fades as time passes.Even those too, which can be a source of lesson or inspiration for the future and upcoming generations. One such true story is that of Flight Lieutenant Manu Akhouri, the brave fighter pilot of the 17 Squadron of Indian Air Force.
In 2009, 17 Sqn was based at Air force Station Bhatinda( Punjab) and functioning with Wing Commander Tarun Chaudhry as its commanding officer. During peacetime training is one of the most important activities of the Indian Air Force which helps it to remain prepared to take on any eventuality. A war-like situation is created in the air for the pilots to practice and remain operationally ready. Flt Lt Manu Akhouri too was undertaking training sorties to practice such complex air operations on a regular basis. On 10 Sep 2009, Flt Lt Manu Akhouri was undertaking another such sortie.
As planned, 24 year old Flt Lt Manu in his MiG-21 aircraft took off from its airbase, after completing the necessary operational checks on the ground. However in its return leg of the mission, the fighter aircraft developed some technical snag. As his aircraft caught fire, Flt Lt Manu saw the village’s higher secondary school below him. He was flying above the Bhalaiana village. Without caring for his own safety, he deprived himself of getting ejected and maneuvered his burning aircraft away from the school to an empty field before crashing. The aircraft crashed about 20 km from Bhatinda airbase in Muktsar district , and Flt Lt Manu Akhouri could not survive the crash. Flt Lt Manu Akhouri was a dedicated soldier and a professionally competent air warrior, who laid down his life in the line of his duty.
Flight Lieutenant Manu Akhouri was born in Daltonganj (Medininagar) district in Jharkhand on 21 Feb 1984. Son of Indian Army Colonel Sanjay Akhouri (Retired) and Neera, he had a brother Chaitanya and sister Pragya as his siblings. However, being the youngest of 3 siblings, he was adored the most. Right from his younger days, he chased the dream of becoming an Air Force pilot and would often stare at the sky, hoping to conquer it one day. As a child, his only toys were planes and helicopters. He would rush out to see aircraft flying past.
Followed the passion :
Following his passion, Manu got selected for the National Defence Academy and joined the prestigious institute. At that time he was in first-year of engineering but he left before the final exams to join the National Defence Academy (NDA). Later he went to the Air Force Academy in Dindigul near Hyderabad and got commissioned as a Flying Officer on 17 June 2006 at the age of 22 years.
Manu got trained as a fighter pilot and passed out as part of 177 Pilots’ Course. Very soon, he gained experience in various air combat operations and developed into a professionally competent air warrior. He underwent training on Advanced Jet Trainer Hawks in Britain and got posted to 17 Sqn called the “Golden Arrows” operating MiG-21s.
