Template:Infobox military person
Flight Lt. Harita Kaur Deol (10 November 1971 – 24 December 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 Jat 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]
Death
She died in an aircrash near Nellore on 24 December 1996, at age 24.[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 News(7 March 2013). Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ↑ Status of Women in India{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Deep & Deep Publications(2010). ISBN 978-81-8450-246-6
- ↑ Year Book 2009{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Bright Publications
- ↑ Documentation on Women, Children, and Human Rights{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Sandarbhini, Library and Documentation Centre, All India Association for Christian Higher Education(1994)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Limca Book of Records{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Bisleri Beverages Limited(2003). ISBN 9788190114868
- ↑ IAF flies into a new era. SikhWomen.com(4 September 1994). Retrieved 13 February 2014.
- ↑ India: A Reference Annual{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting(1998). ISBN 9788123006376
- ↑ Woman IAF flying cadet killed in trainer crash - Indian Express(13 May 2008). Retrieved 13 February 2014.