Major Abhijai was nominated as Captain of the Aircraft for Operational readiness consolidation sortie for OPERATION IRON FIST for induction into Operational Area and Battle Inoculation of aviators on 01 October 2014. The aircraft suffered a catastrophic failure of the tail rotor while flying over the heavily populated area of village Bartol and unit lines of 54 Engineer Regiment where a Sainik Sammelanwas in progress at Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh.
The aircraft had logged approximately sixty minutes of flying time till then. The aviator, having promptly identified the emergency, exhibited indomitable valour, extreme courage and utter disregard for personal safety by maneuvering the crippled aircraft away from the inhabited area and 54 Engineer Regiment. In the limited time available, the aviator transmitted a distress call to the air traffic control tower and also cut off the fuel supply to the engine in order to minimise the collateral damage. The aviator successfully diverted the aircraft despite the tremendous damage suffered in order to save the lives of his brethren in uniform and populace of the village.
The aviator successfully diverted the aircraft despite the tremendous damage suffered in order to save the lives of his brethren in uniform and populace of village Bhartol. Major Abhijai put the lives of these men ahead of his own and sacrificed himself in the process.
The aviator diverted the aircraft away from the habitation displaying split-second reactions despite knowing fully well that it would lead to loss of his own life.
