Captain Arjun Sardana of the Army Aviation Corps made the supreme sacrifice on 29 October 2004 when the Cheetah helicopter he was co-piloting crashed during a reconnaissance mission near Mana Pass in Uttarakhand.
Service as an Army Aviator
Sardana hailed from Noida in Uttar Pradesh. He pursued a career in the Indian Army and trained as a helicopter pilot with the Army Aviation Corps. By 2004, he was serving with 23 (Independent) Reconnaissance and Observation Flight.
The Final Mission
On 29 October 2004, Sardana was assigned to fly as co-pilot with Lieutenant Colonel Pramod Keshav Pande on a reconnaissance mission to forward border posts. Major General Devender Pal Singh, the General Officer Commanding of 6 Mountain Division, was also aboard.
The helicopter departed from Bareilly in the morning. It subsequently lost contact with air traffic control, prompting search operations. The wreckage was found near Mana Pass in Chamoli district, close to the India-China border.
Captain Sardana, Lieutenant Colonel Pande and Major General Singh did not survive the crash.
Remembering His Sacrifice
Sardana’s work required technical expertise, discipline and the ability to operate in challenging terrain. His final mission was undertaken in the course of the Army’s responsibility to observe and assess forward positions along the mountainous border.
Captain Arjun Sardana is remembered for his service as an Army aviator and the supreme sacrifice he made while carrying out his assigned mission. His name stands alongside the other two Army personnel who lost their lives in the crash.
