17-07-2025
Pune Girl Survived A Plane Crash At 1,000 Feet. Now She's A Licensed Commercial Pilot
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Two years after a mid-air engine failure, Bhavika Rathod is now a certified commercial aviator, showcasing her resilience and determination from trainee to licensed pilot
Two years ago, a terrifying mid-air engine failure nearly ended 24-year-old Bhavika Rathod's dream of becoming a pilot. Today, she's a certified commercial aviator, proof that grit can sometimes be stronger than gravity.
On July 25, 2022, Bhavika, then a trainee at Carver Aviation Flying School in Baramati, Pune, took off on what was supposed to be a routine cross-country flight. It was a milestone she had long awaited. Having logged 150 hours out of the 200 required to earn her Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL), the finish line was in sight. But just 15 nautical miles into the flight, flying at an altitude of 1,000 feet in a Cessna 152, the aircraft's engine suddenly cut out.
'I heard the sputter, and then there was silence…" Bhavika recalled, adding that her heart had 'stopped for a second", but her training didn't.
With no chance to return to the airstrip and precious seconds slipping away, Bhavika scanned the landscape and spotted a patch of wet land near Kadbanwadi village in Indapur. Remembering her instructors' guidance that such terrain reduced friction and improved crash-landing outcomes, she maneuvered the powerless aircraft and brought it down safely. The plane landed just 100 feet from a residential area; miraculously, no one on the ground was hurt. Bhavika escaped with only minor injuries.
But what followed wasn't just a physical recovery but psychological too. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) launched an enquiry during which Bhavika was subjected to intense questioning for three days before being placed on a mandatory 'cooling-off" period, temporarily grounding her from further flying.
She almost did. For two months, Bhavika contemplated giving up aviation altogether and enrolling in a BBA course to join her family's business. But her family had other plans. 'They refused to let me quit," she said, adding that her parents and friends practically staged an intervention which reminded her why she started.
In December 2022, five months after the crash, Bhavika received a no-objection certificate for corrective training. The following month, she returned to Carver Aviation. 'The first takeoff after returning was the hardest," she said. 'It was the same runway. Same aircraft. Same sky. But this time, I had more fear… and more determination," she explained.
By September 2023, Bhavika's comeback was complete after she received her official Commercial Pilot Licence. Since then, she's completed a 45-day type rating course for the Airbus A320 in Spain. Now, she's eyeing the skies again; this time as a first officer for a major airline, with dreams of eventually commanding the mighty Airbus A380.
Raised in the working-class neighbourhood of Swargate in Pune, Bhavika studied at Muktangan English School. Her passion for aviation was ignited by a visiting pilot during a school lecture. After finishing Class 12 in 2019, she enrolled in flight school despite pandemic-related setbacks.
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First Published:
July 03, 2025, 18:11 IST
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