Service No : 32195 F(N)
Place of birth : Thrissur Dist , Kerala
Last Rank : Squadron leader
Arm/Regt : Indian Air Force
Martyrdom : June 3, 2019
Squadron leader Hariharan Vinod hailed from Mulankunnathukavu city of Thrissur district in Kerala. Son of Shri Hariharan and Smt Thangamani, Sqn Ldr Vinod completed his engineering degree from Kumaraguru College of Technology Coimbatore and passed out in the year-2009. After completing his graduation, he joined the IAF as a short service commissioned officer. He was commissioned on 29 Dec 2011 into the Navigation branch of the IAF. He got trained as a navigator and passed out as part of 6 SSC(M) Nav course. Thereafter he completed subsequent phases of his navigation training and soon gathered experience in various air operations. After serving for sometime, he got married to Ms Rukmani and started his married life.
AN-32 Crash (Indo-China Border): 3rd Jun 2019
During Jun 2019, Sqn Ldr H Vinod was serving with 43 Sqn AF based in Air Force station Jorhat in Assam. The Sqn was operating AN-32 twin-engine turboprop transport aircraft and was undertaking various air operations including the critical logistic support operations for the army troops deployed in far-flung and inaccessible areas of the North-East. On 3rd Jun 2019, Sqn Ldr Vinod along with his 7 other crew members was tasked for an air support operation. The crew members of the aircraft included Wg Cdr G M Charles as captain, Flt Lt Mohit Garg, Flt Lt Sunit Mohanty, Flt Lt Ashish Tanwar & Flt Lt Rajesh Thapa, Warrant Officer KK Mishra and Sergeant Anoop Kumar S. As per the assigned task, the aircraft was to take off from Jorhat IAF base and land at Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground in Arunachal Pradesh.
Flying in an area with a stretch of deep valleys and high mountains demanded a very high level of flying skills and Wg Cdr G M Charles had the requisite experience and professional expertise to undertake various air operations in the area. As planned the aircraft with 8 crew members and 5 passengers took off from Jorhat at 12:27 pm and lost contact with ground control at 1 pm about 33 minutes after takeoff. The aircraft eventually crashed and the wreckage of the aircraft was found near Pari hills close to Gatte village, 16 km north of Lipo in Arunachal Pradesh, at an elevation of 12,000 feet. The wreckage was recovered 8 days after the crash following a massive rescue operation launched by the security forces. Besides the employment of the Indian Army, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the state police forces, IAF deployed a fleet of Sukhoi-30, C-130J, AN-32 aircraft, MI-17 and ALH helicopters for the rescue operation. Unfortunately, Sqn Ldr H Vinod and all other crew members could not survive the crash and were martyred. Sqn Ldr Vinod was a dedicated soldier and a committed air warrior who laid down his life in the line of his duty.
Sqn Ldr Hariharan Vinod is survived by his father Shri Hariharan, mother Smt Thangamani and wife Smt Rukmani Vinod.
Tarang Mathur
2022 at 1:41 pmNo words can be apt to salute to your valour. Your sacrifice makes us feel proud to be fellow Indians and your courage inspires us to be better citizens of India. May time help your family heal as you stay immortal in our hearts forever.
Tarang Mathur
2022 at 1:41 pmNo words can help heal the wounds of your family your immortal sacrifice for the nation. May time help them heal as you live forever in our hearts. Salutations to your martyrdom.