Sarla Thukral

Sarla Thukral (8 August 1914 – 15 March 2008) was among the first Indian women to fly aircraft. Born in 1914, she earned an aviation pilot license in 1936 at the age of 21 and flew a Gypsy Moth solo. After obtaining the initial license, she persevered and completed one thousand hours of flying in the aircraft owned by the Lahore Flying Club. Her husband, P. D. Sharma, whom she married at 16 and who came from a family which had nine pilots, encouraged her.