Leaders of the skies

YOU will be surprised to know that out of 5,050 pilots in India, 600 are women. This figure [shared by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)] is way above the three percent global average estimated by the International Society of Women Airline Pilots. There has been a steady rise in women pilots; the last five years saw 4,267 commercial pilots’ licenses being issued of which 628 (14.7 percent) went to women. Continuing the ascent, Indian Air Force (IAF) women pilots are now flying military cargo aircraft sorties to high altitude forward areas like Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) and Leh. “Over the last two years, IAF women pilots are flying sorties of AN-32 medium-lift aircraft to DBO, the highest advanced landing ground (makeshift airstrip) in the world at 16,500 ft and IL-76 heavy-lift aircraft to Leh,” says a senior IAF officer. While women pilots are not yet allowed to fly fighter jets, they have been flying helicopters and transport aircraft in IAF for over a decade. Of around 950 women IAF officers, around 70 are pilots. Sq Ldr Teji Uppal created history by becoming the first woman pilot to land at DBO. Commissioned in December 2002, after passing ahead of many male counterparts at IAF Academy, Sq Ldr Uppal attained the “B-Green” category, which makes her independent to operate in the Himalayas, within six years. A member of the elite group of military aviators who have landed at the risky Vijaynagar Indian and Mechuka ALGs in Arunachal Pradesh, she’s also qualified to undertake independent dropping operations in Ladakh. A group of women IAF officers have scaled Mt Everest. Flt Lt Nivedita Choudhary achieved the feat on May 21, 2011 while Sq Ldr Nirupama Pandey and Flt Lt Rajika Sharma reached the peak five days later. “It is more a mind game than a display of physical strength; women are always mentally more stable and can take more stress,” says Flt Lt Choudhary. For the first time ever, IAF is preparing two of its women pilots for combat roles. Ft Lt Alka Shukla and MP Shumathi, trained at the Yelahanka station in flying twin-engine Mi-8 (an assault helicopter), are continuing with their armament and special heli-operations training. They will be trained in bombing, rocket attack, combat search and rescue, and special heli-borne operations. Women have earned wings in the commercial sector as well. Saara Hameed Ahmed, 24, has been flying for over two years. “Male monopoly has been broken but parity in numbers would take some more time. I find nothing wanting in women to avoid the choice of a career in flying,” she says.