For Indian Air Force's elite Communication Squadron, which has some of the best pilots, the supreme sacrifice made by five pilots exactly 25 years back in saving the life of the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai contiunes to be an inspiration.

Wing Commander Clarence D'Lima,
Wing Commander Joginder Singh,
Squadron Leader Mathew Cyriac,
Squadron Leader V V S Sankar
Flight Lieutenant O P Arora

sacrificed their lives on November 4, 1977 to save Morarji Desai.

When the Tu 124 jet, V 643 Pushpak, crash landed at Jorhat in Assam some two-and-a-hours after taking off at 5.03 P.M. from Palam Air Force station, the five pilots had ensured that all the passengers escaped with mere bruises and scratches without caring for their lives. The five skilled fliers nose landed the aircraft in a paddy field in Tetlagon village wherein the cockpit took the maximum impact leaving the rear part safe.

Desai left for Jorhat that Friday on a six-day tour of the North-East accompanied by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister P K Thungon, Intelligence Bureau Director John Lobo and his son Kantilal Desai.

"The ATC's last message at 7.42 P.M. showed the Tu-124 almost in line with the runway. The plane had descended to dangerously low levels, with the result that it hit trees as it approached the runway," reported the court of inquiry headed by Air Marshall D Subaiah, which went into the reasons of the crash. "The aircraft did not land at first as it was slightly high and not fully aligned with the runway and in the second approach the pilot planned to carry out a 'timed circuit' landing," it said.