SRINAGAR: Erica Kohli has become the first female commercial pilot from district Kathua in Jammu province, reported the Daily Excelsior.
A resident of Ward number 5, Mandi Sher Singh, Erica completed her Bachelor’s in Engineering (BE Honor’s) from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani in Electronics and Communication in 2016. She went to Australia for the training of a commercial pilot in 2018. After successfully completing the course she got her Australian Commercial Pilot License (CPL) in 2019. Thereafter she completed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) exams and got her Indian Commercial Pilot License in early 2020.
The report said that Erica was supposed to fly to Australia for her final phase of training but could not go due to Covid-19. She said that the past two years had been hard but their faith and continuous support of her parents kept her going.
Australia has now opened the international borders for students and she is going for her final phase of training in which they learn to fly the passenger aircraft (Airbus A320).
The report said that it was a childhood dream of hers to become an airline pilot. She credited her parents for her achievements and advised the youth to keep going. She also said that parents should constantly let their children flourish and should encourage them to pursue their aspirations, especially the girls.
“My father is the most handsome human and is my superhero,” the report quoted Erica as saying.
