As an investigation is led into the Mirage 2000 aircraft crash on Friday, 1 February that killed both the pilots, Samir Abrol and Siddhartha Negi, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday, 5 February, met both their families.
Sitharaman met the family of Squadron Leader Abrol, who hailed from Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad, in their home on Tuesday, reported ANI.
Abrol is survived by his wife Garima. Remembering him, she posted a poem by his brother Sushant Abrol on Facebook.
The defence minister also met the family of Squadron Leader Negi, who hailed from Dehra Dun, on the same day. She was accompanied by Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat.
She also paid her respects to a photograph of the late test pilot.
Abrol and Negi were just seven months into their test pilot career and were both alumni of the 40th Flight Test Course (FTC) from Air Force Test Pilots School, Aircraft & Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE), IAF, according to KP Sanjeev Kumar, a former navy test pilot himself.
The mortal remains of Negi were cremated with military honours on Saturday, 2 February, reported IANS. Negi is survived by his wife Dhruvika Raj, who is also a Squadron Leader with the IAF.
An ace fighter pilot, Negi was on deputation for over six months to the IAF Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) as a test pilot from his unspecified air base, said IANS.
Abrol's body was flown to Ghaziabad earlier on the same day for the last rites in his hometown with full military honours. Abrol, who was commissioned in 2008, was also on deputation to the ASTE as a test pilot over six months ago from his air base, not specified.
(With inputs from ANI and IANS.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)