Major Abhijai Thapa was an officer of the Indian Army who served with 39 (Independent) Recce and Observation Flight after being commissioned into the Corps of Engineers and subsequently qualifying as a helicopter pilot with the Army Aviation Corps.
Born on 5 June 1985 in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, Major Thapa developed considerable flying experience during his service. By 2014, he had accumulated more than 250 hours of flying and was serving with the Army aviation unit based at Bareilly.
On 1 October 2014, Major Thapa was tasked with a reconnaissance mission near the India-China border in the Munsiyari area of Pithoragarh. He was flying a Cheetah helicopter with Major Vikas Varyani, the engineering officer, and Captain Avinash Yeshwant Somvanshi, the other pilot.
After the mission, the helicopter was returning towards Bareilly when it developed a serious technical emergency. The aircraft was over the densely populated area of Bhartol village and near the lines of 54 Engineer Regiment.
With the helicopter in serious difficulty, Major Thapa and the crew worked to prevent the aircraft from coming down over the populated area. A distress call was transmitted to air traffic control and the aircraft was manoeuvred away from the inhabited zone.
Major Thapa also cut off the fuel supply in an effort to minimise the possibility of fire and further damage. Despite the efforts of the crew, the helicopter ultimately crashed away from the populated area.
Major Abhijai Thapa, Major Vikas Varyani and Captain Avinash Yeshwant Somvanshi made the supreme sacrifice in the crash.
The actions of the crew helped prevent the aircraft from crashing into the populated area and the nearby military lines. Contemporary and subsequent accounts have reported that the diversion protected thousands of people who were in the area.
For his conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty, Major Abhijai Thapa was posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra.
His name remains associated with a final act of service in which the safety of people on the ground was given priority during a rapidly developing aviation emergency.
