The IAF Pilot Who Saved A Jaguar

The sky outside was a perfect blue with fair winds on that hot day in July, but inside the Jaguar an emergency was unraveling with every passing second.

Wing Commander Vernon Desmond Keane had two options: Eject and see his beloved aircraft crash -- which would come at a great cost to the nation and cause harm to civilian life and property on the ground.

Or try the limits of his training; push the aircraft and his flying skills to the edge of technical and human endurance and save them both.

IMAGE: Wing Commander Vernon Desmond Keane was awarded the Shaurya Chakra. All Photographs: Kind courtesy Wing Commander Vernon Desmond Keane/IAF

Sitting in the cockpit of his Jaguar fighter jet, Wing Commander Vernon Desmond Keane confronted a malfunction that had no precedent.

The sky outside was a perfect blue with fair winds on that hot day in July, but inside an emergency was unraveling with every passing second.

An oil system failure had taken place in both the engines and since something like this had not happened in the past, there were no actions listed for such a contingency.

The officer had two options:

Eject and see his beloved aircraft crash -- which would come at a great cost to the nation and cause harm to civilian life and property on the ground.

Or try the limits of his training; push the aircraft and his flying skills to the edge of technical and human endurance and save them both.

Wing Commander Keane did exactly that. In the 15 minutes from first observing the indication of oil system failure up to landing the Jaguar safely, he put all his 13 years of IAF experience in those critical minutes and saved the day.

For his courage and perseverance under immense pressure, he was awarded the Shaurya Chakra, the third highest gallantry award in peacetime on Independence Day.

'My first priority was to reduce the damage to the engines which could eventually lead to a fire'

July 24, 2023

Like every day, Wing Commander Keane had reported for flying duties at the air base in Gorakhpur.

He took off for a regular systems check sortie to observe the airframe and engine performance post a scheduled rectification.

Such missions are often flown by experienced pilots after a detailed briefing by the flight commander who is in-charge of flying operations and the aeronautical engineer in charge of aircraft servicing.

When he took off, it was a smooth flying till about 20 odd minutes into the flight when he saw the indication for oil failure in both engines.

"All my focus was towards the safe recovery of the aircraft. I would be lying if I said I wasn't stressed, but my training kept me calm," says Wing Commander Keane, an experienced Jaguar pilot whose love for the IAF began when he was just 8 years old.

The son of an Air India employee, he grew up in Hyderabad. His father's air force friends would bring in aerospace safety magazines that he would read diligently and dream of being a fighter pilot.

But that afternoon in the cockpit, Wing Commander Keane had to think fast and avert a disaster which could have had fatal consequences.

He adhered to all the laid down protocols which included communicating his recovery plan to the station flying supervisor (SFS) who is an experienced pilot in the air traffic tower to provide assistance during an emergency.

He informed the SFS that he would shut down the left engine to mitigate the damage and try to relight it later -- in case the right engine failed.

The decision proved to be a crucial one.

"Jettisoning the empty fuel tanks in an uninhabited area after experiencing catastrophic failure to the right engine prevented loss of critical height and speed which are crucial for a successful relight. The timely decision to restart the left engine after the complete failure of the right ensured a safe landing from an unrecoverable situation," recalls the IAF officer.

[Jettisoning fuel is a procedure adopted to reduce weight of the aircraft before attempting an emergency landing.]

"I had multiple opportunities to eject and that would have been the safest thing to do, but my motivation to save the aircraft made me take some calculated risks which worked in my favour."

"Coming under pressure, freezing on the controls, failure to jettison fuel in an unpopulated area, failure to follow the correct relight procedure, delayed decision to eject were some critical decisions that could have proved detrimental and may have resulted in the loss of valuable asset and loss of lives on ground," explains the officer, looking back on the emergency that occurred more than a year ago as if it was just yesterday.

When he landed at his air base safely, a thrill of euphoria gripped the entire team of officers and personnel who had put their all in those 15 minutes in assisting him back home.

'Every pilot routinely trains and prepares to handle the gravest of emergencies'

Wing Commander Keane had faced a life-threatening emergency back in 2017 as well. At that time too, he was awarded the Vayu Seva Medal for Gallantry for successfully averting the danger.

While flying the Jaguar aircraft over Jamnagar in Gujarat, he had a double engine fire. The air base was close to the Reliance Petrochemical refinery and Jamnagar town; an accident could have had a devastating effect, but he landed the aircraft safely.

"I consider myself to be extremely lucky to have successfully handled grave emergencies on two occasions. None of it would've been possible without practical training facilities, world class simulators and equipment provided by the IAF," he says.

'I got a call on August 14 that I had been awarded the Shaurya Chakra'

There are many highpoints in a military pilot's life starting from the time s/he receives the flying wings on the day of commissioning.

"A pilot's wings are her/his most valued possession; no wonder it is worn so close to the heart," says the officer.

Listing his career peaks, he mentions the following:

Briefing then defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who subsequently tweeted about the interaction.

Receiving his AOC's personal 1,000 hours plus Jaguar patch on completing 1,000 hours on the Sepecat Jaguar.

"I got his autograph on it and framed it," he says remembering the late Air Commodore Sanjay Chauhan, VM, his then air officer commanding.

The Vayu Sena medal in 2017 was yet another highpoint.

"Definitely, the prestigious Shaurya Chakra is the icing on the cake and I feel humbled to be part of an elite group of soldiers."

"For me the Shaurya Chakra not only signifies courage, but a symbol of the trust that the people of India place in their armed forces and team work of the IAF," he says with pride.

"I am a custodian of that trust and as a soldier it is my obligation to honour it."

As for the Jaguar that he had successfully landed despite the severely damaged engines, it was repaired -- and Wing Commander Keane flew it again after the aircraft had passed all the required checks and clearances.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com