Kashmiri girl is country's youngest pilot

Mumbai: Mumbai-based Ayesha Aziz (20), India’s youngest woman pilot, will soon add another feather to her cap by completing her training flying hours.

Ms Aziz earned her commercial pilot training licence at the age of 16 from Bombay Flying Club in November 2011. She had enrolled in flying school in June 2011.

Born in October 1995, Ms Aziz has finished her flying course and will soon complete her training flying hours to start her career as a pilot for commercial aircraft.

Daughter of a Kashmiri mother, Ms Aziz was born and brought up in Mumbai with a dream of becoming a pilot. She had grown up in the north Kashmir.

While talking to this newspaper on Sunday, Ms Aziz  said, “Every teen-ager has big dreams, but they are forgotten with ti-me. Indian families are also uneasy when their child says she wants to become a pilot as this field requires constant hard work. My goal remained consistent and I achieved it.”

According to Ms Aziz, she decided to become a pilot when she was in Class 5 and enrolled in flying school when she was studying in Class 11 the age of 16 (the minimum age for flying). In 2012, Ms Aziz went to American space agency Nasa for space training and also started her flight training.

Ms Aziz was also lucky enough to meet John McBride. But her favourite moment was when she met her “second greatest inspiration” – astronaut Sunita Williams.

The five-year flying course requires good grades in written exams 200 hours of flying. Ms Aziz has already finished a total of 120 hours on aircraft like Cessna 172 and C152. She finished her exams along with her graduation in the first week of May. Commenting on the achievement, Ms Aziz said, “I am not thrilled by the fact that I will fly as the youngest pilot, but I am happy that people are getting inspiration from me and showing interest in aviation.”

She said the flying was the real fun. “While I would enjoy take-off and landing of the plane, my brother would be scared and always sleep during the flight,” Ayesha said.