A life spent flying fighter jets for two countries Updated: Updated: Ramanathan Iyer, who passed away in Pretoria on March 17, had this distinction Share Article Ramanathan Iyer, who passed away in Pretoria on March 17, had this distinction Ramanathan Iyer, a retired Colonel of the South African Air Force and a Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force till 1996, lived an extraordinary life and passed away at the age of 69 on March 17 doing what he loved best: flying a military aeroplane. I first came across Rama, as he was popularly called in the IAF, in June 1981 as a cadet at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal. Accosting me one morning in the cafeteria, he said, “You seem to be a serious bloke. Do you know your vital actions before take-off — rattle them out and you can go.”