Harita Kaur Deol

Flight Lt. Harita Kaur Deol (1972 - December 25, 1996) was a pilot with the Indian Air Force. She was the first woman pilot to fly solo in the Indian Air Force. The flight was on 2 September 1994 in an Avro HS-748, when she was 22 years old.[1][2][3][4]Daughter of an Army man, Harita was passionate about defence life and in 1993 Harita became one of the seven cadets of the women trannsporter wing of the Indian Air force.

Career

Hailing from Chandigarh in a Sikh family,[1] in 1993, she became one of the first seven women cadets inducted into the Air Force as Short Service Commission (SSC) officers. This also marked a critical phase in training of women in India as transport pilots.[5] After initial training at Air Force Academy, Dundigul near Hyderabad, she received further training at Air Lift Forces Training Establishment (ALFTE) at Yelahanka Air Force Station.[6]

Harita created history when she kissed the clouds at a massive height of 10,000 feet which indeed was am momentous occasion for Indian Air Force.

However she died in an aircrash near Nellore on Dec. 25, 1996.[5] She was one of 24 Air Force personnel to die when an Indian Air Force Avro aircraft, crashed near the Bukkapuram village in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh.[7][8]

References

  1. 1 2 "All time inspirational women personalities of India". India TV. 8 March 2013.
  2. ↑ Shobana Nelasco (2010). Status of Women in India. Deep & Deep Publications. pp. 13–. ISBN 978-81-8450-246-6.
  3. ↑ Year Book 2009. Bright Publications. p. 559.
  4. ↑ Documentation on Women, Children, and Human Rights. Sandarbhini, Library and Documentation Centre, All India Association for Christian Higher Education. 1994. p. 2.
  5. 1 2 Limca Book of Records. Bisleri Beverages Limited. 2003. ISBN 9788190114868.
  6. ↑ Soma Basu (September 4, 1994). "IAF flies into a new era". SikhWomen.com. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
  7. ↑ India: A Reference Annual. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. 1998. p. 686.
  8. ↑ "Woman IAF flying cadet killed in trainer crash - Indian Express". May 13, 2008. Retrieved 2014-02-13.


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