During the Kargil War 25 years back, K Nachiketa Rao, then a flight lieutenant with Indian Air Force, survived a tryst with death. Forced to eject from a MiG-27 fighter jet after its engine failed, he was captured as a Prisoner of War by Pakistan troops. He survived for eight days there before he was handed over to Indian authorities.
As NDTV revisits the Kargil War and remembers sacrifices and acts of bravery by Indian soldiers, we spoke to the brave fighter pilot, who retired from the Indian Air Force as a Group Captain in 2017. The Ejection Recounting the events on the day that would change his life forever, Group Captain Nachiketa Rao (retd) said he had taken off with three other fighter pilots from Srinagar. "We became airborne from Srinagar.
.. and the target was at a place called Munthu Dhalo.
There was a huge enemy logistics hub there. We got airborne in a set of four aeroplanes. Me and my leader, we were firing rockets.
After the rocket attack, I had an engine failure. A MiG 27 is a single engine aeroplane, and in case of an engine failure, I followed the relight process, but since the (ground) altitude was very high, I ran out of height. Once I saw the hills gushing towards my aeroplane, I had no option but to eject," he said, adding that at the time, he was flying at an altitude of more than 15,000 feet.
"It was a fortunate decision because within a few seconds, as soon as I got my senses back, I could see the airplane crashing onto the hillside. I could have gone w.