Flight Lieutenant Hina Jaiswal has created history by becoming the first Indian Woman Flight Engineer. She successfully completed the Flight Engineers’ course at 112 Helicopter Unit attached to the Air Force Station, Yelahanka here.
Commissioned on January 5, 2015 in the engineering branch of the IAF, she has served as Chief of firing team and battery commander in a frontline Surface to Air Missile squadron, before being selected for the Flight Engineers’ Course.
She earned her Flight Engineer’s wing on Friday. During the course of the last six months of gruelling training, she displayed unflinching commitment, dedication and perseverance, said an official statement from the Defence Ministry.
Flt Lt Hina Jaiswal hails from Chandigarh and has completed her Bachelor of Engineering degree from Panjab University. The only daughter of D K Jaiswal and Anita Jaiswal, Hina dubbed her achievement as a “dream come true.”
Since childhood, she had aspired to don the soldier’s uniform and take on the skies as an aviator. The realization of that dream took its root from the alma mater of Heli-lift.
As a Flight Engineer, she would subsequently be posted to operational helicopter units of the IAF. While in the unit, she would be routinely called upon to operate in demanding and stressful conditions, right from the icy heights of the Siachen Glacier to the seas of the Andamans.
In the last few decades, the Indian defence forces have taken long strides to become more gender inclusive. Since 1993, IAF has commissioned women in the officer cadre and they have also been successfully inducted as pilots in various streams of the IAF.
In 2018, the Flight Engineer branch, which was exclusively the domain of male air warriors, was opened for women officers. Flight Engineer is the member of an aircraft’s flight crew who monitors and operates its complex aircraft systems requiring a specialized skill set.
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