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]
Career[]
Hailing from Chandigarh in a Sikh family,[1] in 1993, she became one of 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 a 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]
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[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "All time inspirational women personalities of India". India TV. 8 March 2013. http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/all-time-inspirational-women-personalities-of-india-20609.html?page=7.
- ↑ Shobana Nelasco (2010). Status of Women in India. Deep & Deep Publications. pp. 13–. ISBN 978-81-8450-246-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=Lb0YlJO3WjgC&pg=PA13.
- ↑ Year Book 2009. Bright Publications. p. 559. http://books.google.com/books?id=NHLtQ7yOrAYC&pg=PA559.
- ↑ Documentation on Women, Children, and Human Rights. Sandarbhini, Library and Documentation Centre, All India Association for Christian Higher Education. 1994. p. 2. http://books.google.com/books?id=hlnaAAAAMAAJ.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Limca Book of Records. Bisleri Beverages Limited. 2003. http://books.google.com/books?id=2jhRAQAAIAAJ.
- ↑ Soma Basu (September 4, 1994). "IAF flies into a new era". SikhWomen.com. http://www.sikhwomen.com/equality/social/military/deol.htm. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
- ↑ India: A Reference Annual. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. 1998. p. 686. http://books.google.com/books?id=RHhDAAAAYAAJ.
- ↑ "Woman IAF flying cadet killed in trainer crash - Indian Express". May 13, 2008. http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/woman-iaf-flying-cadet-killed-in-trainer-crash/308622/. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
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