Harita Kaur Deol

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]

Harita Kaur Deol
Born(1971-11-10)10 November 1971
Died24 December 1996(1996-12-24) (aged 25)
Bukkapuram, Prakasam, Andhra Pradesh, India
AllegianceIndia
Service/branchIndian 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]

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. "All time inspirational women personalities of India". India TV News. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  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. Limca Book of Records. Bisleri Beverages Limited. 2003. ISBN 9788190114868.
  6. Soma Basu (4 September 1994). "IAF flies into a new era". SikhWomen.com. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  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". 13 May 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
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