A Farmer¡¯s Daughter, 19-YO Maitri Patel Became India¡¯s Youngest Commercial Pilot. How She Did It

Ever since we were little, most of us have been fascinated by aeroplanes. Whether it was the sheer excitement of flying on one or just glancing up in the sky when you¡¯d hear the turbojet engine roar.

Some eventually get past the fascination whereas some push this to the limit by actually becoming a pilot. However, Maitri Patel, in her obsession and fascination with aeroplanes managed to become the youngest commercial pilot of India, at the age of 19.

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No matter how many challenges you want to achieve, no matter how many obstacles you can overcome, perseverance can also confront the world. A 19-year-old girl from Surat, Gujarat has proved that she can face poverty, hardships, challenges, and obstacles before perseverance. She became a pilot at a very young age and set a record. Maitri Patel is an ideal role model for millions of girls as she achieves her goal without facing any obstacles in the way.

Childhood dream

Maitri wanted to become a pilot since childhood and after completing her class XII education from Metas Adventist School, Surat, Gujarat, Maitri went to the United States to complete her pilot training program.

How a farmer fulfilled his daughter¡¯s dream

Maitri's father Kantilal Patel is a farmer in the Olpad area and her mother works in the health department of Surat Municipal Corporation. Her father desires to see his daughter fly a plane.

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Kantilal Patel used to ferry people from Surat to Mumbai airport. He saw several planes take off and land then he decided that his daughter would fly the plane and travel the world one day.

It was not easy for Kantilal to fulfil his dream of seeing his daughter as a pilot. Despite not being financially strong he enrolled Maitri in an English medium school and sold a piece of his ancestral land to pay for the flight training course fees.

Maitri completed the course in just 11 months

Generally, the duration of commercial flight training is 18 months. Very few can complete the training in 18 months but Maitri got a commercial license to fly planes after completing training in a record-breaking 11 months. Maitri now wants to go further and become a captain and wants to fly a Boeing aircraft for which she will begin her training soon.

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"I completed the training in 11 months and called my father to come to the United States and then I flew at an altitude of 3500 feet. It was like a dream come true for me," said Maitri Patel.

Maitri saw the aeroplane for the first time at age of 8 and since then she dreamed of becoming a pilot and after 11 years she made history and became India's youngest Commercial Pilot at age of 19. During an interview with India Today, Maitri said "I was only 8 years old when I saw an aeroplane for the very first time and that was the moment I decided that I wanted to become a pilot."

Homecoming

Maitri returned to India with her commercial license and received a warm and grand welcome at the airport from her parents and family. Maitri Patel has got a license to fly commercial aircraft in the US but for flying in India, she has to get a training license as per the rules here.

Gujarat CM congratulated Maitri

Recently, Vijay Ramniklal Rupani, the Chief Minister of Gujarat met Maitri Patel and congratulated her for her achievement. The CMO tweeted about the same and said, "CM Shri Vijay Rupani today met 19-year-old Maitri Patel, a farmer's daughter from Olpad, Surat, and congratulated her on becoming the youngest female commercial pilot after receiving vocational training in the US and also wished this pride of Gujarat a sky-touching career."