Service No : 33881 F(P)
Place of birth : Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
Last Rank : Squadron Leader
Unit : 23 Sqn AF
Arm/Regt : Indian Air Force
Martyrdom : May 21, 2021
Sqn Ldr Abhinav Chaudhary
Sqn Ldr Abhinav Chaudhary hailed from Pusar village in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh. Son of Shri Satyendra Chaudhary and Smt Satya Chaudhary, he had a sister Mudrika as his sibling. He had a strong desire to join the armed forces right from his childhood, which grew along with his age. After completing his initial schooling from Meerut, he got selected to join the prestigious Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) Dehradun. It was at this place, that the foundation of his future military career was laid. Subsequently he got selected for the NDA and joined it in the year 2010. He joined the "R" Squadron in NDA and excelled in various activities during his training period. He passed out of NDA as part of 124th course in the year 2013.
Later he was commissioned into the Indian Air Force in the fighter stream from Air Force Academy (AFA) in the year 2014. He underwent multi-phases flying training and got trained as a fighter pilot. After completing his training, he got posted to the Air Force base at Pathankot. He joined the fighter squadron at the base, operating MiG-21 Bison aircraft. After serving for few years, he got married to Ms Sonika Ujjaval on 25 Dec 2019. By 2021, he had put in around 7 years of service and had been promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader. By that time Sqn Ldr Abhinav Chaudhary had evolved into a professionally competent fighter pilot with substantial experience in various air operations.
MiG-21 Aircraft Crash: 21 May 2021
During May 2021, Sqn Ldr Abhinav Chaudhary was serving with 23 Sqn, known as 'Panthers" based at Air Force Station Suratgarh in Rajasthan. 23 Squadron was formed at Pune in the year 1956 with the de Havilland Vampires with Sqn Ldr Kanwar Singh as its first commanding officer. Later it was armed with Gnat aircraft in 1960s and eventually Mig-21 Bison. During peacetime training is one of the most important activities of IAF which helps it to remain prepared to take on any eventuality. A war-like situation is created in the air for the pilots to practice and remain updated. Sqn Ldr Abhinav Chaudhary too was undertaking training sorties to practice complex air operations on a regular basis. On 20 May 2021, Sqn Ldr Abhinav Chaudhary was undertaking another such sortie.
Sqn Ldr Abhinav Chaudhary took off from Air Force Station Suratgarh as planned for the night mission on 20 May 2021. However the aircraft developed some serous technical snag and Sqn Ldr Abhinav Chaudhary had no choice but to eject. The aircraft was seen circling over the fields in Langeana village in Moga district in Punjab before coming down. Sqn Ldr Abhinav Choudhary using his flying skills probably tried to manoevre the aircraft away from residential area of the village to minimize the loss of life and property. But eventually the aircraft crashed near Langeana village at around 0100 Hrs on 21 May 2021. However Sqn Ldr Abhinav Choudhary could not survive the crash and succumbed to his injuries. His body was found 2 km away from the crash spot after an intense search of nearly four hours. His parachute was found open and an SOS was also sent from his device to IAF, but he had lost the battle of life by then. He tried to land safely using the parachute, but apparently broke his neck and spinal cord. Sqn Ldr Abhinav Choudhary was a committed soldier and a gallant air warrior who laid down his life in the service of the nation.
Sqn Ldr Abhinav Chaudhary is survived by his by his father Shri Satyendra Chaudhary, mother Smt Satya Chaudhary, wife Smt Sonika Ujjaval and sister Mudrika.
Ravi Singh
2021 at 9:41 amSalute you and your family Jay Hind Jay Bharat
Anantha Rao Sanapathi.
2021 at 9:58 amDear Brave Family Members..
First of all Happy Freedom Day to all in advance….
I would like to say a Sorry and a Thank you.
Sorry for the lost we Had.. He may not be with us now. But, He will be there forever in our hearts.
Thanks, you gave us a brave heart. Everyday we live was torn and brought from his dairy.
There are no words to convey our gratitude.
There is no honour to replace your sacrifice.
Chin Up.. We are proud of him..
Stay strong, we are with you.
With Love…
Nida Umerjee
2021 at 10:00 amMy deepest condolence to the family of Sqn Ldr Abhinav Chaudhary. You have saved so many lives, and your sacrifice will forever live in our hearts. No amount of thank yous are enough for what you have done for our country and our people. May you rest in power and a big salute to your family for such a huge sacrifice they have made for our country. Jai Hind!
Tejas Rikka
2021 at 11:53 amDimple V
2021 at 10:08 amBig Salute to solider and thanks to family who sends their kids for serving their nation and Mother land.
Shradha Raikar
2021 at 10:18 amA big salute to the tough fighter pilot who has saved lives of many people risking your own life during the plane crash. Its a big loss to the nation to lose a pilot like you. You will always be the hero for our nation. A big salute to your family as well to make him this capable.
Pallavi Warad
2021 at 10:26 am“No words and No sentence can describe your sacrifices”
A big solute to you and your family…
Real Hero of India….
Thanks to you and your family…
जय हिन्द जय भारत।
Anjali Mishra
2021 at 11:49 amFirst of all a heartfelt tribute to the brave warrior for the immense courage and the love for the country that he had. Words will fall short of how proud and greatly saddened the country is with the news of your martyrdom. Heartfelt condolence to the courageous family of our gem, the country feels your pain and we are with you in your loss. I envy his family for being so strong and patriotic that they stand strong even after losing such a great son, brother and husband as not everyone is so strong as them. We are proud of the family who gave the country a brave warrior who had the will to fight for our country.
Lastly I would say one line – हमारे सारे जवान हमारे दिल में सदा के लिए अमर है – जय हिन्द जय भारत|
Diksha sharma
2021 at 1:05 pmAe vattan, vattan mere abad rhe tu……if we are living with freedom and our choices, you all are reason for this.our words are nothing in front of your sacrifice for our nation.your name and sacrifice will always bloom in our heart with fragrance of independence we are celebrating every day and every second.
Jai hind
Ahana kainth
2021 at 1:31 pmFirst of all I am honored that I like in India peacefully without any worry of my life and that is all because of our Indian soldiers
The ones who always kept going for the country even if there were so many challenges in the way
Paying a form of respect is the least I can do for all the soldiers that have always given their all so that we could live without worrying
And especially during these times loosing a beloved is very hard
Hats off to their families
I hope all the members of the family are always happy and live really well
It is hard for every one
And I feel so lucky to have such a good life and that is because of our army
My heartfelt gratitude to all the wonderful soldiers who have always been so courageous
And jai hind jai bharat
Aman Ahmed
2021 at 1:34 pmDear sir,
Though you may not be alive today to celebrate the independence day, but the very reason we are able to celebrate this very day of 15th August is because of countless sacrifices the soldiers have given for the sake of the country, be it during wars, at the borders, country patrolling among the other many reasons. There is no small or big reason to be martyred, we as citizens don’t see if you have received a medal from the government. True patriotism as citizens of country would be incomplete if we don’t leave back a message for your family to keep the true sense of martyrdom nourished. Thank you sir for everything you have given us. And there is nothing bigger than sacrificing life for the sake of the citizens of the country. You have given all what you had and the country will always salute you for the bravery this day and every day till each of us citizens get to breathe.