By Staff Correspondent
Pawan Hans Ltd (PHL), a public sector company operating helicopters, had its pilot, Captain Mayuri Deshmukh, as India’s first female offshore Pilot-in-Command while airlines operated flights with the all-women crew to celebrate Women’s Day.
According to the helicopter operator, while she stands as the first woman in India to fly in command offshore, Capt. Deshmukh, for over seven-year now, has been flying Dauphin AS 365 N3 helicopter for Pawan Hans.
Unlike flying for an airline, pilots employed with PHL operate flights for police personnel, corporate flights, VIP flights, passenger transport in the remote, hilly, border, and inaccessible areas of North and Northeast India and oil and gas exploration companies.
However, the PHL said: “Capt. Deshmukh is a highly experienced and qualified pilot and also has immense exposure to flying across different terrains of the country, which includes Daman and Diu and Andaman & Nicobar Islands,”
Offshore helicopters transfer engineers and executives to oil rigs, highly paid oil rig workers, and mobile survey vessels worldwide in the quest for “black gold”. In addition, for evacuating rig workers in emergencies or for compassionate leave, pilots of these aircraft will often have to fly in all weathers.
