New Delhi: On May 27, flight lieutenant Parul Bhardwaj (Captain), flying officer Aman Nidhi (Co-pilot) and flight lieutenant Hina Jaiswal (Flight Engineer) have become the country’s first ‘All Woman Crew’ to fly a medium lift helicopter. 

The ‘All woman crew’ flew a Mi-17 V5 helicopter for a Battle Inoculation Training mission taking off and landing from restricted areas at a forward airbase in South Western Air Command.

Flt Lt Parul Bhardwaj hails from Mukerian in Punjab and is incidentally also the first woman pilot to fly the Mi-17 V5. Fg Offr Aman Nidhi hails from Ranchi and is also the first woman IAF pilot from Jharkhand. Flt Lt Hina Jaiswal hails from Chandigarh and is the first woman Flight Engineer of the Indian Air Force.

The Pilots have undergone their basic flying training at the ‘Helicopter Training School’ at Air Force Station, Hakimpet followed by advanced training at Air Force Station, Yelahanka. The helicopter was certified airworthy by squadron leader Richa Adhikari the unit’s engineering officer. This is yet another achievement of women officers in the IAF.