Wing Commander Jaipaul James

Wing Commander Jaipaul James hailed from Tambaram in the Chennai district of Tamil Nadu and was born on 9 Aug 1971. Son of Shri Jaypaul (Who retired from IAF), and Smt Janet, he grew up in various Air Force bases, imbibing the culture and ethos of the Indian Air Force. Wg Cdr James aspired to follow in the footsteps of his father and don the Air Force uniform since his younger days. After his initial education, he chose to join the Air Force and was commissioned on 18 Dec 1993 at the age of 22 years. He got trained as a helicopter pilot and passed out as part of the 152nd Pilots’ Course. 

After completing his training Wg Cdr James started his Air Force journey as a Pilot Officer and served in various helicopter units during his career. He served in various Air Force bases and evolved into an ace pilot having expertise in undertaking diverse operational missions. He got promoted to the rank of Flying Officer on 18 Dec 1994 and became a Wing Commander on 18 Dec 2006. He also served as Commanding Officer of 1 Delhi Air Sqn NCC from 06 Jan 2014 to 14 Jun 2016. He gathered experience in flying different types of helicopters available in the IAF and evolved into a professionally competent pilot capable of handling various operational missions.

Microlight Aircraft crash: 15 Feb 2018

During 2017-18, Wg Cdr James was serving in the unit based at Air Force station Jorhat in Assam. On 15 Feb 2018, Wg Cdr J James and Wg Cdr Dushyant Vats based at Air Force station Jorhat were assigned an operational task. The pilots in their Virus SW-80 Microlight aircraft took off from the Air Force Station around 12:30 PM. Both of them were experienced helicopter pilots and had undertaken numerous operational missions in their service career. The assigned task was a routine task for them and did not demand any special skills on their part.

The aircraft after taking off had moved around 20 Km from the station when around 1 PM the pilots experienced some technical problems in handling the flight. The technical snag soon turned serious prompting the pilots to attempt an emergency landing. But the aircraft could not be controlled and crashed at Darbar Chapori, a sand bar in the Brahmaputra in the northern part of the Majuli district of Assam. The aircraft went up in flames in which both the pilots got severely injured and later succumbed to their injuries. Wg Cdr J James was a dedicated soldier, and a fine air warrior, who laid down his life in the service of the nation.

Wing Commander Jai Paul James is survived by his father Shri Jaypaul, mother Smt Janet,  wife Smt Grace, son Roshan and daughter Reshmi.