West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday congratulated Indian Air Force (IAF) Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi, who became the first Indian woman to fly fighter aircraft solo, and said “you are an inspiration for many young girls in our country”.
The Chief Minister congratulated Chaturvedi on Twitter saying, “heartiest congratulations to Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi. The first Indian woman to fly fighter aircraft solo”.
Heartiest congratulations to Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi. The first Indian woman to fly fighter aircraft solo. You are an inspiration for many young girls in our country
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) February 22, 2018
Flying Officer (Fg Offr) Avani Chaturvedi scripted history by becoming the first woman in the history of the IAF to fly a fighter aircraft solo.
The IAF said that Fg Offr Chaturvedi flew a MiG-21 Bison on 19 February from Air Force Station Jamnagar in Gujarat.
Fg Offr Chaturvedi was among the first three women to have qualified as fighter pilots in the IAF.
On 18 June 2016, Manohar Parrikar, who was then the defence minister, had commissioned Chaturvedi, Mohana Singh of Rajasthan and Bhawana Kanth of Bihar – all three flight cadets at the time – into the IAF at Air Force Academy in Dundigal near Hyderabad following their graduation.
Their commissioning was historic as it made the IAF the first of the three services to allow women in combat.
Fg Offr Charurvedi, who hails from Rewa in Madhya Pradesh, did her schooling from Adarsh School in the city and BTech in Computer Science from Banasthali University, Jaipur.