Major Vikas Varyani was an officer of the Indian Army who served in the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME). He was associated with 39 (Independent) Recce and Observation Flight and worked as an engineering officer in the Army’s aviation establishment. His role involved providing technical support to helicopter operations and contributing to the safe functioning of aircraft and their equipment. On 1 October 2014, Major Varyani was part of the crew of a Cheetah helicopter operating in the Bareilly area of Uttar Pradesh. The aircraft was returning from a sortie when it encountered a serious rotor-related technical failure. The emergency developed while the helicopter was flying near an inhabited locality and the lines of 54 Engineer Regiment, creating a risk to people and personnel on the ground. Major Varyani was serving as the engineering officer alongside aircraft captain Major Abhijai Thapa and Captain Avinash Somvanshi. As the situation became critical, he assisted the captain in responding to the failure and in directing the damaged helicopter away from the populated area. Despite the crew’s efforts, the aircraft crashed in the Nakatiya/Bhartol area of Bareilly on the same day. All three officers lost their lives. The Government of India recognised Major Vikas Varyani’s actions during the emergency by awarding him the Sena Medal (Gallantry) posthumously. His service is remembered in connection with the 1 October 2014 helicopter crash, in which the crew’s efforts to move the aircraft away from people on the ground were recognised as an act of courage and self-sacrifice.