From aviation icon to fall guy, how Naresh Goyal rose and fell

His journey began with a job at a travel agency that earned him Rs 300 a month. A few years down the line he set up his own travel business. He mastered the tricks of the trade in quick time and climbed the corporate ladder in a manner befitting the chosen. All obstacles fell speedily before him and his business savvy — and his connections. Then, two-and-a-half decades after Naresh Goyal first took to the skies, the fall came as precipitously.

The story of this pioneering aviator had it all — early penury, long years of struggle, rise to the top, a protracted battle to stay aloft, and then, a decisive fall.