Nineteen-year-old Nisha Sejwal was passionate about flying but little did she know that her dream of becoming a pilot would come crashing down so soon.
Nisha's last test flight ended in a tragedy early this week.
She was among the four trainee pilots who were killed when two small training aircraft from a flight school collided midair in the US state of Florida.
on Tuesday.
Nisha's Facebook posts revealed her passion for flying.
"The best way to predict the future is to create it.#pilotlife," reads one of her posts of December last year.
"Getting high is my job," reads another post.
Her cousin, Sneha Sejwal, recalled her to be an "ambitious" woman who was looking forward to getting her commercial flying license.
"Nisha wanted to be a pilot and that was her dream. This was her last test flight. After this, she would have received a commercial flying license. She had received a private flying license in April and was quite excited for her last test flight," Sneha told PTI.
Nisha's Facebook post of June 11, also showed her passion for flying.
"I can't remember a single time (my parents) ever told me not to do something I wanted to do.#aviationforlife."
One of Nisha's teachers at DAV Model School (Yusuf Sarai), Charu Singh Bhalla, also recalled about one of her favourite students.
"She faced a delay in getting her US visa last year. But she was determined to go for her course and pursue her dream. In India, it is still considered a big thing for parents to send their children abroad for studies and Nisha was quite thankful for that opportunity. I had met her before she left for the US and she was quite happy," Bhalla told PTI.
After her schooling in Amity International School, Saket, Nisha joined Dean International flying school in Florida in September last year.
Incidentally, Nisha's cousins Virender and Preeti, are also pilots, who took their training from Dean International Flying School and were also her inspiration.
Sneha had spoken to Nisha last on July 6. Because of Nisha's hectic schedule, they could not speak much.
" Nisha was in Delhi for 15 days in February. She had come here to attend a cousin's wedding and that was our last meeting," she said.
Sneha said Nisha loved dancing and was always a fun person to be with.
Sneha learnt about the incident through a cousin but she was hoping and praying that it was not Nisha who was on that flight.
"I got to know about the incident through a cousin. I immediately searched on the internet and watched TV news channels. We were also informed about the incident by her school," she added.
Nisha's parents were not in a position to go to Florida. One of my uncles has gone to Florida to complete the due procedure, she said.
Nisha's family was planning for a vacation to Florida this month. They had even applied for a visa last month but it was rejected.
Nisha's cousin and teachers recall her to be a "bright student" who was also involved in co-curricular activities.
Ritu Pandey, who taught Mathematics to Nisha from Class 6 to 10 in the school, recalled her as an "all-rounder girl" who would never say 'no' to any of her teachers.
"She would always wish me on Teachers' Day and my birthday. She was an all-rounder who excelled in her studies and also represented the school in zonal competitions. It has been really hard to accept that she is no longer with us. She had come and met us before leaving for her training," said Pandey.
Bhalla, who had taught English to Nisha in primary classes and was also heading the nukkad natak team, also concurred with her colleague.
"When Nisha was in Class 10, she was part of the nukkad natak team and we had participated in a zonal competition and bagged the first position for our play on daughters. Nisha always stood first in her class and was always made the class monitor. She joined Amity International School in Saket after finishing her Class 10 from our school, but her heart was always here," Bhalla told PTI.
Nisha has an elder sister who is pursuing her masters through correspondence while her younger brother is in class 12. Nisha's father has an Amul dealership and her mother is a housewife.
On Tuesday, two aircraft, Piper PA-34 and Cessna 172, belonging to Dean International Flight School based at Miami Executive Airport, smashed into each other in the sky and plummeted to the ground, 14 kms west from where they took off.
After a frantic search, police and fire rescue staff recovered the bodies of Sejwal, Jorge Sanchez, 22, and Ralph Knight, 72.
Police later pulled the body of another 22-year-old trainee pilot Carlos Alfredo Zanetti Scarpati from the swampy grassland.
Police believe that Scarpati was flying with Sanchez and that Knight and Sejwal were in the other plane together.
Nisha was on a routine flight check to maintain her certification.
She had enrolled in Dean International Flight School in September 2017.
The flight school has a history of more than two dozen incidents and accidents in the decade between 2007 and 2017.
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