Wing Commander Unnikrishnan G Kartha passed away yesterday, at Puttaparthi Palliative Care Centre, Puttaparthi aged 73. He was commissioned in the Indian Air Force in January 1972 and went on to serve till March 1994 before he took voluntary retirement.
Wing Commander Kartha, fondly known in the aviation fraternity and family as ‘Unni’ was an accomplished Test Pilot, and in his 22 years of service with the IAF had flown numerous types of aircraft including the C-47 Dakota, Allouette III, Mi-25 and Mi-35. He was largely responsible for inducting and operationalising the last two mentioned attack helicopters in the IAF.
Post retirement, Unni began penning his experiences as Cyclic – a blogspot that went on to have millions of readership across the world. His articles endeared people to him so much so that many aviation buffs despite not having met him personally, would narrate episodes of his articles at any given opportunity.
Wing Commander Unni Kartha was the first Commanding Officer of 104 (H) Squadron, an attack helicopter squadron then flying the Mi-25s.
Wing Commander Kartha had moved to Puttaparthi about 6 months ago and spent his last days at this spiritual town.