On July 4, three braveheart air warriors of the Indian Air Force led by Wing Commander Mandeep Singh Dhillon, Commanding Officer of the Tezpur-based Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) unit, met with a tragic end when their helicopter crashed in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh.Co-pilot Flight Lieutenant PK Singh and Sergeant RY Gujar, the flight gunner, were among the other aircrew members involved in the mission involving evacuation of the landslide-hit civilians.A constable from Aruna-chal also died in the crash.On the ill-fated day, the crew reportedly evacuated 169 civilians to safety.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)For “Mandy”, as Wing Commander Dhillon was fondly known, saving lives was intrinsic to his life and profession. Never the one to shy away from volunteering on such mercy missions, his grooming came about at this very ‘Hovering Angels’ unit — his first operational unit and unfortunately, his last.On a hill-flying mission in the Tawang sector last year on May 19, upon learning that a number of Army jawans were injured in a vehicle accident, Mandy volunteered to evacuate them. In a series of sorties, he evacuated 13 soldiers from Jaswantgarh to Khirmu, a helipad some distance away.With nearly 4,000 hours of flying experience, including 1,200 captain hours on the ALH alone, Dhillon was one of the highly experienced helicopter pilots. Air Vice Marshal Manavendra Singh, erstwhile Commodore Commandant of ‘Hovering Angels’, was Dhillon’s first Commanding Officer in 2000. He recalls, “Mandy was one of the very bright and upcoming officers. In no time, he achieved his operational status.” “Besides being a thorough professional, he was one of the most loved persons in the station. What a great loss!” said Air Commodore KVR Raju, Air Officer Commanding, Tezpur.A second-generation IAF officer, Mandy Dhillon, who hailed from Patiala, was destined to follow in his father’s footsteps. From being a cadet at the Rashtriya Indian Military College to the NDA, followed by the Air Force Academy, it was only natural for him to opt for the helicopter stream.“Perhaps he wanted to add to the legacy of his father, Sqn Ldr PS Dhillon (retd), who was a Flight Engineer in Mi-4 helicopters in 1970s,” said Group Captain PB “Papa” Nair, Dhillon’s NDA coursemate. An avid sportsperson and an excellent cross-country runner from his school days, Dhillon imbibed much of his athletic prowess from his father, who was also a national coach in athletics.From the initial sense of shock to denial, slowly but surely, the ALH unit Dhillon once nurtured for over a year is coming around, as the pilots have once again taken to the skies in their angelic missions of saving lives.Recalling their life together in their near 14 years of matrimony, his wife Prabhpreet Kaur Dhillon describes her husband as someone who was very compassionate and helpful. Having grown up herself in the Air Force way of life (her father retired as an Air Commodore), Prabhpreet was well acquainted with the high-risk profession of her pilot husband.“He would always volunteer for such rescue and relief missions ahead of others. He just wanted to help others in every possible way and also performed ‘seva’ in langars at the gurdwara wherever possible,” she recalled. “He was a loving husband and a doting father to our daughter Sehaj and son Eshar.” On that ill-fated day, she wanted her husband to take their daughter to the Station Medicare Centre as she was running fever. “But he said he would not be able to, as he had to go for a flood relief mission. And, in the process of saving other lives he ended up losing his own life,” said Prabhpreet, wistfully remembering her last conversation with him.Despite her profound loss, Prabhpreet, as the first lady of the unit, was seen consoling family members of others who had lost their near and dear ones in the tragic accident.“Her courage in the face of adversity and personal tragedy was both astounding and admirable,” said Air Cmdr Raju.The “antim ardas” is being solemnised at their residence in Patiala.(Contributed by Smriti Rana Singh, a former Tribune staffer)