Wing Commander Vikas Upadhyay was an officer of the Indian Air Force who was commissioned on 21 June 2003. His service record identifies him by service number 27472 F(P), records his 171 Course, and notes his promotion to Wing Commander on 21 June 2016.
On 06 October 2017, he was serving as the captain of an Mi-17 V5 helicopter assigned to an air-maintenance sortie in the forward area near Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. The aircraft was carrying supplies for a forward post of the Indian Army in the hilly terrain. The helicopter crashed near the dropping zone, and all seven defence personnel onboard sustained fatal injuries.
Wing Commander Vikas Upadhyay lost his life while carrying out an operational support mission for personnel deployed in a remote forward area.