Ayesha Aziz, a 21-year-old girl from Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, became the youngest Indian pilot after she received her commercial license last week. Aziz dreams of flying a a MiG-29 fighter jet at the Sokul airbase in Russia.
"I want to reach the edge of space, for which we are talking terms 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," Aziz, who got a student pilot license at the age of 16, told NDTV.
Aziz began her training when she was still in school. She got her student pilot license from the prestigious Bombay Flying Club when she was 16. She also did a two-month advanced space training course from NASA in 2012. She looks up to astronaut Sunita Williams as her inspiration.
Aziz's mother hails from Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district while her father belongs to Mumbai. Aziz is focused on her goal to fly fighter jets.
"I am proud of her achievements. We want her to go higher and higher. She is my idol and she motives me," Areeb Lokhandwala, Aziz's brother told NDTV.
"My message for Kashmiri girls would be to chase their dreams, to not let anything let them down, have goals in your life and achieve them," Aziz said.
