Capt Aarohi Pandit becomes first woman in the world to fly solo across the Atlantic in an LSA
The 23-year-old pilot from Mumbai achieved this feat on May 13 by landing her aircraft at Iqaluit Airport in Canada in a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA).
When it comes to flying high, the sky is certainly not the limit for Indian women. In a first, not only for the country, but also the world, Captain Aarohi Pandit, a 23-year-old pilot from Mumbai created history by becoming the first woman in the world to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo in a Light Sports Aircraft (LSA).
The Indian pilot performed the feat on the midnight of May 13. She achieved the record by landing her aircraft at Iqaluit Airport in Canada. She flew the 3,000 km long flight under some extreme weather conditions after taking off from Wick, Scotland (UK) with a couple of stopovers in Greenland and Iceland.
Aarohi is flying around the globe as part of the WE! Women Empower Expedition: the first all-female team to circumnavigate the world in an LSA. She travelled in an eco-friendly, ultralight Sinus 912 which is also extremely fuel-efficient.
Aarohi embarked on her journey on July 30 last year. She was joined by fellow pilot and best friend Keithir Misquitta, who at 24, is just a year older than her. Keithir accompanied her during the first four legs of the expedition. They took off from Patiala in Punjab last year and flew across Rajathan, Gujarat and then onward to Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Serbia, Slovenia, Germany, France, UK, Faroe Islands and Iceland before making it over treacherous Greenland.
In its official statement the WE Expedition handle on Twitter commented:
Interestingly, Aarohi also set a world record for flying across the second largest ice sheet on the planet.
She said:
Interestingly, the aircraft Aarohi flew is named Mahi, which means "great planet Earth" in Sanskrit. With this achievement, she has certainly proved that there are no limits except the ones we place on ourselves.