Youngest pilot from city upset over no recognition

SHILLONG: Both Ayesha Aziz and Ruth West Kharkongor reached for the sky and won it and that too at the age of 21. But while Ayesha basked in the limelight and made ripples in the media, Ruth’s feat remained only the State’s pride and not the nation’s.
Ruth became Meghalaya’s first woman commercial pilot in December last year at the age of 21. Twenty-one-year-old Ayesha received her commercial pilot’s licence last week from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Ruth, who was born on March 29, 1995, has a licence issued by the US’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
When asked about her reaction about Ayesha, who was born in October 1995, being dubbed as “India’s youngest pilot”, Ruth said, “I am happy for her… but recognition should be given for what is the truth.”
The 22-year-old already has nearly 300 hours of flying and 50 hours of solo piloting. Cessna 152, Cessna 172 and Seneca PA-34 are some of the planes that Ruth has flown so far.
Her current priority is to get an Indian licence. “I want to work in my own country,” Ruth says while speaking about her preparations for getting the DGCA licence.As is the case with any country, Ruth will have to appear for another exam in India before she could fly in the country.Brought up by her mother Natalie West Kharkongor, a faculty member at IIM-Shillong, Ruth decided at a very young age that she wants to be in the skies.The youngest of her three siblings, Ruth said she had always been inspired by the professionals in uniforms and felt good to have achieved that feat at a young age.