Real-life Wonder Woman : Garima Abrol, who lost husband in Mirage 2000 crash, aims to join Air Force
Garima Abrol, wife of late Squadron Leader Samir Abrol who was killed in Mirage 2000 fighter jet crash, has cleared Services Selection Board in Varanasi and may get an opportunity to join the Indian Air Force's academy in Dundigal in Telangana.
Garima Abrol, wife of late Squadron Leader Samir Abrol who was killed in Mirage 2000 fighter jet crash, has cleared Services Selection Board in Varanasi and may get an opportunity to join the Indian Air Force's academy in Dundigal in Telangana.
Squadron Leaders Samir Abrol and Siddartha Negi lost their lives in February this year during a crash while they were test flying a Mirage 2000 fighter jet in Bengaluru. Both pilots were from the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment.
Sources in the Air Force said initial reports suggest that the plane took off and then made a failed landing attempt, after which parts of the front portion broke off and the aircraft crashed into a gate near the runway.
The avionics and electronic warfare capabilities of the planes were upgraded and the two pilots were taking it for an acceptance test when it crashed at the HAL airport.
However, Sushant Abrol, the brother of Samir Abrol had requested a central government inquiry into the mishap.
Garima Singh had told ANI, "I want justice for my husband. And such things should never be repeated. My husband could have ejected early but that would have taken the lives of many other people. I request the government to hold the culprit accountable and punish them."
Earlier, she had written an emotional Facebook post asking for justice.
"I am Garima Abrol I am the wife of Martyr Squadron Leader Samir Abrol...whose tears are still not dry... It still hasn't sunk in that you are gone. No one has the answer to my questions. Why YOU? My husband was a proud Indian and I loved sending him off to serve the nation with a morning cup of tea and a head held high.
"Every soldier's wife's biggest fear in life is when her husband would be called to the front line and serve in an active war. I too had this fear. Many a times I woke up crying after having one such bad dream... But Samir would hold me, console me and tell me...that (it) is the ultimate purpose of his job...to be able to serve our nation when the call comes... He wanted me to be brave, as that's what he was, a brave soldier, patriot to the core," she said in a Facebook post.
"How many more of these pilots have to give up their life to shake you up and make you realise there is something really wrong in the system? How many fighters have to give up their life for you to wake up?" she said
On February 1, Squadron Leaders Samir Abrol and Siddhartha Negi, both from Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment, died after their fighter jet crashed in Bengaluru.
They were conducting an acceptance sortie of the Mirage-2000 trainer, which had been newly upgraded by state-run aerospace company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
Though the two pilots made a bid to eject, they were caught in the flames as the plane crashed with a huge explosion.