It was a dream come true for 21-year-old Kashmiri Ayesha Aziz who is set to become India’s youngest woman to fly a MIG-29 fighter jet. Aziz, who started her training when she was 16, got her commercial pilot’s license last week. Unable to contain her excitement, she posted a picture on a social media platform saying: “The MOST precious booklet of my life arrived yesterday and brought me happiness unbound… What once was just a dream is a reality now,” she posted on Facebook.
After getting her commercial training licence, the young girl is undergoing a training to fly MIG-29 fighter jet at Russia’s Sokul airbase. If she is successful in her training, she will become the youngest Indian girl to fly a fighter jet.
Speaking to NDTV, she said that she wants “to reach the edge of space.” The talks for the same are on with the Russian agency to fly the MIG-29. “So, that is going to be the next expedition – to fly the MIG-29 fighter jet.”
Ayesha has recorded a number of achievements in her name. The girl was very successful as a student and began training while she was in school.
She received a student pilot licence at the age of 16 by the Bombay Flying Club. She was also among the three Indians chosen in 2012 for a two-month advanced space training course at NASA.
Coming from a state which is hit by frequent protests, Aziz has a message for the Kashmiris. She says, “they should chase their dreams and not let anything get them down, to have goals and achieve them.”
Her mother hails from Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir, while her father is from Mumbai.
