“Do not fly during bad weather and do not fly if you are feeling over confident,” said a newly-minted flying officer Aman Nidhi when asked if she had any jittery moments up in the air while training. The 120 cadets who graduated from the Air Force Academy at Dundigal would branch off following their commissioning in their allotted areas of work for further training, but would remain united, thanks to their passion for flying. However, given perennial questions about the safety of the aircraft that the Indian Air Force operates, mainly in the context of the MiG crashes, the young cadets had sagacious words of advice that belied their age.
“It is the man often and seldom the machine. One has to remain alert to all possibilities in order to effectively handle tough situations,” Ms. Nidhi, who harboured dreams of playing cricket before committing to flying, said. She and another woman officer were commissioned as helicopter pilots. A third woman flying officer was commissioned as transport aircraft pilot. Flying Officer B. Laasya Vadana was awarded the President’s Plaque for overall merit in navigation and ground duty branches.
