21 Year old Girl youngest ATR Captain
 

Bavicca Bharathi, has become the youngest commander in the world at the age of 21.

The record was earlier held by captain Nivedita Bhasin of Indian Airlines who achieved it at the age of 23.

The young girl from Marol, Andheri (East) flew her first flight IT 2439/2440 with Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) on December 29.Employed with Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) since July 2007, Bavicca flew an ATR-72-500 with more than 50 passengers on Bangalore-Hyderabad-Bangalore route.

So how does this youngest commander with 2400 hours of flying feel of her achievement?

“I feel happy and proud of this achievement. I am thankful to God for giving me this opportunity. It makes me feel very responsible,” says Bavicca.“The safety of my aircraft and passengers is foremost in my mind. But I also remembered all those who helped me in making the day possible especially my parents, instructors,” she adds.

Bavicca had been making waves since May 2007 when she became the youngest commercial pilot license (CPL) holder at the age of 18 and then the youngest advanced training pilot license (ATPL) holder in 2010 whilst being employed with KFA as a co-pilot.

Being an avid planner who has charted every record she wants to break. “After this I wish to be the youngest check pilot, instructor and so on,” she speaks of her next move.

Bavicca and her Mother Judith (43) made news in 2007 when they got their CPL together.Both of them then thought of making another record by flying together some day.

“As my mother is a co-pilot in Kingfisher in the same fleet, my next aim is to fly with her. She can be the co-pilot and I, the captain,” she says.

Mind you this intelligent girl not only takes pride in flying planes but also enjoys diverse interests.

“I enjoy painting, singing carnatic and playing the piano. I recently passed Grade 5 Piano from Trinity College, London.Besides flying, I am doing my Masters in Business Administration from a very reputed university in USA,” she says.


21-year-old Marol girl youngest commander in the world - Mumbai - DNA

:D

Good on her,

But worthy of note she is not the first and it is actually not that out of the norm for a Captain to be of the same age as herself.

Good PR I guess though.

PT6A

she sure has set a new record with this new "ATPL" !!
(moron reporters)


... she's also joined another "elite club" ... the ones who somehow manage to get their Licenses issued by DGCA the very same day they apply ! :D

well thats a great achievement for the girl but u cant help but assume something is amiss. her mother got employed by kingfisher at the age of 40 hahaha. that seems a little ludicrous, unless you are part of the airforce or any other services no airline wil employ trainee co pilots above the age of 35. that is usually the norm.

Money and contacts speak all languages in India !.

Bavicca had been making waves since May 2007 when she became the youngest commercial pilot license (CPL) holder at the age of 18 and then the youngest advanced training pilot license (ATPL) holder in 2010 whilst being employed with KFA as a co-pilot.


hmm... i thought ATPL means "Airline Transport Pilot Licence". is it the new way or the old-fashionable way that i was never aware of :(

There is a word starts with P and ends with S....

life is a longdistance run
 

Being the youngest at something is a good start,but its just the begining.
Getting better at something as you gain experience is a more worthwhile goal.

Congratulations!
 

Im sure she deserves to be a captain. I heard in an airline in the philippines that
an
1.> FO had to bring a notebook full of ANSWERS because he couldnt answer one damn question during the initial interview. And still got the job
2.> same FO got released but with one big limitation. FO is only allowed to fly with one person. compared to the other fo's who were released with no limitations. Special treatment?
3.> Allowed to take groundschool training for Captains. even without an ATPL. so apparently you dont need an ATPL to get upgraded
4.> FO does not have the required hours to become Captain and did not get any endorsements from any regular captains.

I guess times have changed. Good luck! :D

Good for the girl!! proud shes an indian!!:D

Ummm....not true please!
 

You've got to be joking!!
I know an Indian boy who got his CPL from Canada on his 17th birthday. He had completed his CPL requirments 2 months before his 17th birthday and had to wait for his birthday to be officially presented the licence. I believe it was a huge event cause the then Prime Minister of Canada(Mooroey,I think) himself presented this lad with the well deserved licence.There was some TV footage too, at that point in time. I do believe this was an all time record!
This young lad went on to fly for Indian Airlines, I think. The reason I know this is that I flew him and his dad way back mebbe in 1983/84 from Toronto to London whilst they were returning back from all the stars and jingles after his son had completed his Cpl and the presentation. And his old man was so proud of his son that he actually requested permission to enter the flight deck enroute and during the course of the conversation, actually showed me the TV footage of his son recieving the award,on his handy mobile VHS video camera! And then went on to narrate the boy's history. Apparently,the father too was a pilot then. And the boy had done his O levels too at some ridicolusly young age(13 or so me thinks....). My F/O and F/E were suitably impressed too with this proud father's enthusiastic son and his phenomenol achievements. If my memory serves me right,the old man was a pilot with Air India. I kept very fond relationships with the family for a few years after which time and tide washed it all away. They were based in the then city of Bombay,now Mumbai....
Have no idea what happened to the young lad,but i'm quite certain he must have gone out and made a mark for himself in the world of aviation. Would be very interesting to know though....
And mind you, this was way back in '83/'84. When the average Cpl age was in the early 30's and the 'younger' ones made it at best in their late 20's.
So it was definitely an achievement of sorts...:)

Wouldn't be possible in the USA...as the minimum ATPL age requirement is 23.

Sounds like an accident waiting to happen....in India.
Category Two can't be far ahead....EU blacklist just waiting, I expect.:{

Interesting... she mentions wanting to fly with her mother.

Our company has a policy that you may not fly with spouses or immediate family. I know many companies out there don't have an issue with it, but what are the more experienced PPRuNers out there think?

My feeling is that it perhaps an additional dynamic into the flight deck. Yes I know we should all act like professionals, however I can't help but feel that this could bring unwanted issues from the ground into the air, no matter how professional the individual.

Bravo 411A for that breathtaking display of prejudice. Is it her age, her sex or her nationality which makes her a dangerous pilot?

Age, and lack of experience.
A bad combination...:ugh:

So 411,
I assume you were never young or wet behind the ears. And if you were a rookie then you were an old rookie. Is that what you so skilfully suggested...
(No offence meant there please...)
Thanks

That's ok 411 for drivers in the RHS - it's expected. We were all
"young or wet behind the ears" as FOs (I only had 1,300 hrs when
I joined a major as a F27 FO)

Put same in the LHS and its a different ball game. Faced with a
dire situation way outside her experience and training she had
better hope there'll be an old "Dan Roman" type in the right seat
should it ever occur.

BTW how the hell did she ever get 2,400 hours by age 21, if
indeed that figure is a true one?

@Slasher
 

In India you get directly employed by the majors as soon as you have your CPL as general aviation is virtually non existant and there are no regionals.

Hence airlines are forced to hire pilots without any experience.

The above mentioned girl was also India's youngest female CPL holder.

She was employed by Kingfisher on the ATR at the age of 18 and had been with them ever since.

she got trained from yash air... now it should speak volumes!!!!

I doubt its yash air that made any difference

She and her mother were at the right place at the right time.

Anyone with a name on a CPL were immediately hired by
the airlines back then :hmm:

She was supposed to join Air India but joined Kingfisher instead