About an year ago, Lt Commander Rahul Nair paid a glowing tribute to a close friend who died in a plane crash but he would never have thought that he would meet the same fate one day.
Rahul, whom a former Naval officer and family friend described as one of "brightest of the brightest pilots", perished along with Commander S K Maurya when a Navy plane performing aerobatics crashed into a building in Hyderabad today.
Former Naval officer and a close family friend, Lokesh Batra remembers Rahul as a homely boy, whom he had seen grow up. "Around one pm, we got the news about his death. It is shocking," he said.
Batra, who had worked with Rahul's father in the Navy, said, incidentally, Rahul's friend had died nearly a year ago in a plane crash and his tribute was "was very touching".
Rahul is survived by his father N R Nair, mother Saraswati, sister (who live in Delhi), wife and a three-year-old son (who live in Bangalore) and two brothers who live abroad.