Medal for IAF pilot who located Khandu's crashed copter

New Delhi, Jan 26: On the occasion of India celebrating its 63rd Republic Day today, the brave hearts who have displayed exemplary courage will be lauded. Among those who will be honoured will be a helicopter pilot of the Indian Air Force who showed his daredevilry in searching for the crashed Pawan Hans helicopter that was carrying the then Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu.

Wing Commander Felix Patrick Pinto was the one who helped in the search for the copter that crashed in Tawang in April 2011. On Wednesday, he was named to receive the prestigious Shaurya Chakra, the third highest peacetime gallantry medal for his courage and grit.

Pinto, an Mi-17 pilot had displayed his steely resolve to locate the crashed copter at the tense mopment when there was no information on the Khandu's copter. He successfully steered the malfunctioning helicopters for close to 15 minutes to safely land in Guwahati on Aug 29, 2011.

The citation awarded to him read, "For exceptional displays of exemplary courage, determination, leadership and composure under adverse conditions, twice in a year, Wing Commander Pinto is recommended for the award of Shaurya Chakra."

Pinto was spearheading the air operations launched in Tawang sector to locate the Pawan Hans chopper carrying Khandu. In spite of the bad weather, Pinto took to the skies on May 4 to locate the copter wreck's exact coordinates.

OneIndia News