Suryakant Chintaman Chafekar was born on 27 September 1959 at Nagpur, Maharashtra, to Captain Chintaman Vishnu Chafekar and Vijaya Chintaman Chafekar.[7] Captain Chintaman Vishnu Chafekar was an officer in the Indian Territorial Army[8] and a social activist.[9] Vijaya Chintaman Chafekar was a school principal from Nagpur.[citation needed]
Chafekar was commissioned as a pilot officer in the transport stream of the IAF on 29 December 1982. He has held several important command, staff and instructor appointments during his career. He was considered to be an expert in flying fixed wing aircraft in the Himalayan Region, and supervised humanitarian assistance and disaster relief tasks such as flood and earthquake relief operations.[11]
On 18 February 2002, during a trial landing at Kargil airfield near the Pakistan border his aircraft was fired upon by a Pakistani missile that hit one of the engines, setting the aircraft on fire.[12][13] He continued to fly the aircraft with only one operational engine, and landed it at IAF airfield at Leh.[citation needed]
On 4 November 2008, while Chafekar was still serving with No. 48 Squadron, he landed an Antonov An-32 at the Fukche HAALG approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) from the Line of Actual Control with China. This airstrip sat at a height of 13,700 ft (4.2 km) and was last used during the 1962 Sino-Indian War.[19]
Around 15 months after the trial landings at DBO and Fukche, on 18 September 2009, Chafekar landed an Antonov An-32 at the Nyoma ALG, about 23 km (14 mi) from the Line of Actual Control with China.[20][21]
During his career Chafekar was also awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal[22] by the President of India for his service to the Indian Air Force, from which he retired on 30 September 2017.[23]
Lakshmi Bai Tilak Award for Best Autobiography[29]– Citation: Air Vice MarshalSuryakant Chintaman ChafekarAVSM, SC is being awarded Best Autobiography Literature Award 2021 for his book Nilaeechya Chatta by Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad, Pune, India
Rashtriya Sant Tukdoji Maharaj Smruti Puraskar[30] – Citation: Air Vice MarshalSuryakant Chintaman ChafekarAVSM, SC is being awarded Best Autobiography Literature Award 2021-22 for his book Nilaeechya Chatta by Vidarbha Sahitya Sangha, Nagpur, India
He has published his autobiography in 2 languages- Nilaeechya Chatta[31] (Marathi, published September 2021), Shades of Blue[32] (English, published November 2021). These books have been published by Rajhans Prakashan, Pune, India. He has been awarded Lakshmi Bai Tilak Award for Best Autobiography (Marathi) for year 2021 by Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad, Pune, India. [33][34] He has also been awarded Rashtriya Sant Tukdoji Maharaj Smruti Puraskar for Best Autobiography (Marathi) for year 2021-22 by Vidarbha Sahitya Sangha, Nagpur, India. [35]