26-05-2025
Family roots in Ludhiana, flight lieutenant Aman Singh Hans conferred with Shaurya Chakra for ‘flying without canopy at altitude of 28,000 feet'
Flight lieutenant Aman Singh Hans, 29, was conferred with 'Shaurya Chakra', the third-highest gallantry award, by the President of India Droupadi Murmu, at a recent ceremony in Delhi.
His ancestral village is Hans Kalan of Ludhiana district. Later, his family moved to Taranji Khera village of Sangrur district. The family currently lives in Panchkula.
His father Col (retd) Rupinder Singh Hans said: 'We are very proud of our son's achievements. My family had moved from Ludhiana's Hans Kalan village many years back but we still visit there on occasions such as Diwali etc. Aman was born in Patiala and later attended army school. He had joined NDA.'
He has been conferred with the honor for displaying 'exceptional courage' in landing his MiG-29 aircraft after its canopy blew off at an altitude of 28,000 feet during night hours. He hails from Hans Kalan village of Ludhiana district.
Union minister of state Ravneet Singh Bittu, in a post on X, wrote: 'Pride of the Skies, Son of the Soil. Flight Lieutenant Aman Singh Hans of Hans Kalan, Ludhiana, displayed exemplary courage and presence of mind by safely landing a severely damaged fighter aircraft during a high-risk night mission—averting a major disaster. In recognition of his heroism, he was awarded the Shaurya Chakra by President Droupadi Murmu. A moment of immense pride for his family, especially his father, Col Rupinder Singh Hans (Retd), and the entire Ludhiana district.'
An official statement from the Ministry of Defence reads: 'On 28 Mar 24, the officer was authorised to fly a long range ferry mission on MiG-29 aircraft by dark night, towards Exercise Gagan Shakti-24. After 20 minutes of flying time, at an altitude of 28,000 feet (8.5 km), the pilot felt a sudden blast in the cockpit with aircraft Head Up Display and visual reference to fly, blanking off. He realised that the canopy of the aircraft had flown off, exposing him to severe weather conditions with temperatures of minus 35° – 40° Celsius, dangers of decompression sickness, hypoxia and wind blast affecting eyes at that altitude and high speeds. In this grave situation, he maintained his composure and quickly took control of the aircraft. While flying on head down instruments, he announced the emergency using standby radio control, kept clear of the civil flying in the proximity and descended to a lower altitude of 3 km with no radio reception and severe pain in the eyes. He conveyed the flight information with utmost clarity to the controlling agencies and took prompt decision to land at the nearest airbase. He correctly assessed aircraft weight required for landing due to heavy fuel configuration and made a safe landing at the earliest.'
