Indian Navy		 552 Squadron
INAS

Sea Harrier  T.Mk.60

IN651

Thursday
5th April 2007
0850 hrs (IST)

 

  

Commander Vikram Menon

Lt Commander Saurabh Tewari

 

"Sea Harrier crashes, one pilot missing"

On Thursday morning, April 5th, 2007,  a Navy two seat Sea Harrier T.Mk.60 "IN651" took off on a routine mission from Dabolim airbase. Soon after take off, at about 8:50am  Indian Standard Time,  it crashed into the Arabian Ocean off the Goa Coast.

The crew Commander Vikram Menon,  the instructor pilot  and the Commanding Officer of the INAS 552 Squadron, and Lt-Commander Saurabh Tewari, a month away from his one year training in the Squadron, both reported ejected.

Within thirty minutes of the crash Commander Menon was rescued and the search continued for Lt. Cmdr Tewari.

By the evening the search  had not found the other pilot.

Lt. Saurabh Tewari's body  recovered from the ocean, near Grandy nine days later



photo by permission of Tewari family
Lt Commander Saurabh Tewari

 

      I am grateful to the family of  Lt. Saurabh Tewari for providing photographs and details to include in this biography.
 Some extracts used in this Biography  were  compiled from Indian News Sources.