Kalam was still smiling when death stared him in the face 14 years ago

The last time death stared him in the face, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was composed; with a reassuring smile playing on his lips. The extraordinary man was a picture of imperturbable confidence though death appeared imminent just before the Pawan Hans helicopter he was travelling in crashed in Jharkhand’s Bokaro district in September 2001 — nearly ten months before Kalam took over as India’s 11th President and 14 years before he finally lost his battle for life following a cardiac arrest on Monday. It was on September 30, 2001 when Kalam, then the principal scientific adviser to prime minister, had boarded the helicopter from Ranchi on way to Bokaro where he had to attend a school function.

“Though the pilots had informed us mid-air that there was something terribly wrong with the helicopter’s rotor and it sounded like imminent death to all of us; Kalam remained composed with his signature smile playing on his lips. He even advised the two pilots not to worry,” said Samaresh Singh, a former science and technology minister in Jharkhand government who was seating next to Kalam during the ill-fated flight.

As Samaresh Singh and others feared, just as the pilots tried to land the helicopter at Bokaro airstrip, they lost control and it just fell down. The helicopter crash-landed, its rotor broke down, which brought it down from a considerable height with a thud. While Kalam and others including crew members escaped death; the left portion of the chopper and the co-pilot’s seat were badly damaged.

In fact, seconds after the crash-landing, Kalam profusely thanked the two pilots. The two pilots, like the others on board were physically hurt and mentally nervous as well; but Kalam had comforted them, saying they deserved awards for saving their lives. Then the civil aviation officials had described the crash as “miracle” since everyone on-board had survived. The land below had turned soft after a rainfall; else the “damage” could have been substantial and consequences even worse.

And though Kalam too had sustained injuries and sprain in his body after the fall, he drove straight from the crash site to the Ramakrishna Vidyalaya in Bokaro to address the students as per the schedule. Kalam had then told the kids to dream big.

It was a clear reflection of the great man’s sense of timeliness and of his great personal courage. He did not waste time lamenting his condition, nor did he seek sympathy. If those who attended him at the school did not know about the accident, they would not have even suspected it.

At the school function, Kalam had behaved precisely as he did before, and even though he was in pain after the crash-landing, he conducted himself without letting any injury overwhelm his capacity or determination.

Known for his love for students, Kalam was also delivering his speech on Livable Planet Earth at the Indian Institute of Management, Shillong when he collapsed on Monday evening. Every inch of this planet would miss him forever.