In first of its kind, Hina Jaiswal makes history by becoming the first Indian woman to be inducted by Indian Air Force as the Flight Engineer. Though the IAF became gender-free in 1993, there were a few departments which included only men and Flight Engineer is one of them.
In 2018, the branch became open to women as well and now, after six months of proper training along with the men, from the 112 Helicopter Unit attached to the Air Force Station in Yelahanka in Bengaluru, Hina Jaiswal becomes the first woman Flight Engineer to be inducted by IAF.
A flight engineer is the member of an aircraft’s flight crew who monitors and operates its complex aircraft systems requiring a specialised skill set.
Born in Chandigarh, Hina served as the chief of firing team and the battery commander in a frontline surface to Air Missile Squadron. She was commissioned in the engineering batch of the IAF on January 5, 2015.
Hina now will be posted to a helicopter squadron where she will monitor and operate IAF’s complex aircraft in various conditions, including the Siachen Glacier and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a press release by the Defence Ministry states.
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