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Zaka Ullah Bhangoo

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Zaka Ullah Bhangoo
Birth nameZaka Ullah Bhangoo
Born1948
Sheikhupura, Pakistan
Died2007
south of Trabzon, Turkey
BuriedSheikhupura, Punjab Kot Roshin Din, Sheikupura
Allegiance Pakistan
Service / branch Pakistan Army
Years of service1968–2000
Rank Brigadier
Unit23rd Frontier Force Regiment
Commands1 Army Aviation Sqn
Battles / warsIndo-Pakistani War of 1971
Siachen Conflict
Kargil War
War in North-West Pakistan
AwardsTamgah-e-Bisalat, Sitara-e-Bisalat

Brigadier Zaka Ullah Bhangoo (1948–2007) was a Pakistan Army aviator and one-star general who, after his retirement, became involved in flying microlight aircraft. He was killed in a light plane crash in Turkey in May 2007 while attempting a flight from the United Kingdom to Pakistan.

Early life and army career

Bhangoo was born in 1948 in Sheikhupura, Pakistan, educated at Lawrence College Ghora Gali, and commissioned into the Pakistan Army in 1968. He flew helicopters such as the Alouette and Puma, and fixed-wing aircraft such as the O-1 Bird Dog. He also flew helicopters for the Pakistan Army Aviation's VVIP flight for 8 years.

In 2001, he and a co-pilot (Brigadier General Ajab Khan) planned to fly an ultralight aircraft around the world in 80 days. The plane was a US-made Star Streak aircraft with a top speed of 209 km/h (130 mph). The flight did not ultimately take place due to logistical and diplomatic difficulties.

Flight incident and death

In 2007, he was piloting a light plane with an English friend, Mick Newman, on a flight from the United Kingdom to Pakistan. The pair had set off in a twin-seater Sky Arrow 650T microlight from Trabzon in Turkey but crashed 30 miles (48 km) south of the city on 13 May 2007. After the crash, The Daily Telegraph reported that Osman Güneş, the Turkish interior minister, claimed that the pair were being trailed by the MİT, Turkey's intelligence organization.

References

  1. The Tribune (Chandigarh, India) online edition for 17 June 2001.
  2. Pakistan Aviation Forum, posted 24 May 2007
  3. Daily Telegraph online edition: Bond Sailor in death crash 'was no spy'. 19 May 2007
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