On the 23rd May, 1980, Flying Officer Suresh Gattu was authorized to fly as No. 2 in a two aircraft sector reconnaissance sortie. At the end of the sortie, after peel off overhead, while turning onto downwind, Flying Officer Suresh Gattu found his flight instruments flicker and become unserviceable. His radio telephone faded out at this stage. He tried lowering undercarriage unsuccessfully by normal means. The cone was stuck and all attempts to retract it manually were of no avail. Flaps also failed to lower. The trimmer was also stuck and inoperative and there were no light indications in the cockpit. Flying Officer Suresh Gattu lowered the undercarriage by emergency method and made a flapless approach. After touch down he put off HP cock and operated the tail chute. The tail chute did not operate and he was left with maxarette braking also inoperative (his threshold speed was 300 kmph, it being a flapless approach). Flying Officer Suresh Gattu brought the aircraft to a stop safely by the end of the runway and with scant regard to his personal safety when odds pitched against him were very high, saved a costly aircraft.

Flying Officer Suresh Gattu thus displayed a high degree of professional skill, competence and devotion to duty.