Who is involved, and what happened?
Captain Navtej Singh is a former officer of Indian Navy.
The photoshoot / video was taken at a very high altitude — between 10,000 and 20,000 feet — from an open aircraft door.
According to Singh, the aircraft was deliberately depressurised before opening the door — a procedure that military aircraft (like certain cargo/transport planes) use when doing operations from open doors.
What conditions he faced — and how intense it was:
When the aircraft door opened mid-flight:
The wind rushed in with enormous force. Singh described the experience like “sticking your head out of a bullet train multiplied several times.”
The blow was strong enough to make his face ripple, with cheeks pushed back, lips fluttering, and skin vibrating from pressure.
His muscles strained to stay stable, his eyes barely able to stay open — just to aim the camera properly.
The air at that altitude is thin, and it’s freezing cold — both of which add to the challenge: breathing becomes harder, cold numbs the limbs, and keeping steady becomes even tougher.
On top of that, there’s the noise, turbulence, and movement of the aircraft — all actively working against the photographer. Adjusting camera settings, framing shots, holding the camera still: everything becomes a near-impossible task.
Given all this — wind, cold, thin air, pressure, motion — just standing at the door would be risky. But to take a clean photograph in those conditions? That requires more than skill — it takes grit and nerve.
Safety measures & technical setup:
Because of the danger involved, Singh did not just step out casually. According to reports:
He was secured with a full-body harness, connected via steel carabiners and a heavy-duty tether, to ensure he wouldn’t be blown out by the wind.
The aircraft being depressurised is part of the standard operating procedures in certain military-class planes when the door needs to open mid-flight — for operations like aerial photography, supply drops, reconnaissance, etc.
Because of altitude and thin air, additional precautions are needed — oxygen support, vigilance against cold, readiness to capture shots quickly before the plane moves.
This isn’t a casual photoshoot — it’s more like a mission.
What the video / footage shows — and why it’s going viral?
The video Singh shared on social media shows him teetering at the aircraft’s open door, the wind slamming into him so hard that his face visibly distorts, his jacket flapping violently, and him fighting to hold the camera steady.
In his own words (from the caption/post), he said that the moment the door opened, he felt like “a tiny speck fighting a storm.”
He described the struggle: “The wind doesn’t just touch you — it slams into your face, making your skin ripple, your muscles twist, and your eyes stretch and blur.”
Nonetheless, despite all that — the roar, the cold, the violent force — he managed to steady himself enough to frame and shoot a photograph. As he said: “the shot pulls you forward.”
No wonder people on social media are stunned — what looks like a “cool aerial picture” normally comes across as calm and serene.
But this video shows the brutal cost behind that serenity.
