First All-Female Crew Flies Airliner in India

Indian Airlines has become the first member of the International Air Transport Assn. to fly a passenger plane on a scheduled flight in India with an all-female flight crew, the airline said Wednesday.

Capt. Saudamini Deshmukh and co-pilot Nivedita Bhasin flew a Fokker Friendship aircraft last week from Silcher to Calcutta in eastern India. The landing was shown Sunday on Calcutta television.

Deshmukh has six years of flying experience. Bhasin, who won a scholarship to learn to fly, comes from a family of pilots. Her husband and father-in-law are both pilots. Indian Airlines, the country’s domestic carrier, has two other female pilots.