Khokhar had returned to the city only on Tuesday afternoon. “Manjit had gone to Mumbai where the C-90 King Air plane had undergone some scheduled technical propeller service, after which it was brought to Chandigarh. Ever since his return, he was on the phone, talking to his friends. Late in the evening, we sat outside the house, watching people celebrate Diwali. He slept early, saying he had to go for the test flight in the morning for which he did not want to get late,” recalled Narender.

Their father, Buta Singh is a former member of the Board of Control, HAFED, and lives in Ratia village in Hisar. Khokhar’s body will be taken there for cremation on Thursday.

“After completing his diploma in commercial pilot training several years ago, he had left for the US where he stayed for around 18 years. It was only last year that he decided to return to India and settle down here. He joined the Ranbaxy group as a pilot and remained there till he got the Punjab government job,” said Ram Lal Singla, a family member. It was learnt that though he owned a night club in the US, Khokhar continued to work as a commercial pilot there.