Keonjhar girl becomes first lady pilot from state

Kendrapada: Her passion to travel the world drove the 25-year old Odia girl, Shelbi Mishra, to become the first lady pilot from the state. With 400 hours of flying experience, Mishra started her career with the Air Asia recently after completing two years of rigorous training in the US.
The girl from Rukunapursasana village in Keonjhar district defied societal pressure to join the male bastion in aviation and fulfilled her dream to become a pilot.
Mishra had done her initial flying training from Texas and completed her B.Sc (Aviation) and MBA (Aviation) from India. She is the youngest women pilot to get a commercial pilot license at the age of 21 in 2011.
“My work in the aviation industry taught me a lot about the place of women in the society,” Mishra told TOI from Mumbai.
“My parents encouraged me to pursue my mission to became a pilot. My job comes added benefits like moving around the globe,” added Shelbi.
07/07/16 Times of India