Around 2 decades ago, when an 8-year-old Kugan Tangiisuran visited an international airport and saw an airplane touching down, he immediately fell in love with the winged machines.

Since then, with each passing day, his love for airplanes just got stronger.

While marvelling the beauty of airplanes when he was just 8, Kugan made up his mind that he wanted to become a pilot.

Despite 11 failed attempts in 9 years, today, this young gentleman finally witnessed his dream of becoming a pilot come true.

Born in a middle-class family in Penang, Kugan’s parents could not afford pilot training so he ended up pursuing hospitality management, following which he worked in various hotels.

While employed in the hospitality sector, a friend of Kugan mentioned about a great opportunity with AirAsia. Though his job profile was that of an office boy, knowing Kugan’s fancy for planes, his friend motivated him to take it up saying mobility within departments at AirAsia was quite relaxed.

Kugan decided to take up the job as the first step towards accomplishing his big dream of becoming a pilot.

Then, a slight ray of hope came by in 2006. Kugan appeared for the exam of cadet pilot and even passed it. But as luck would have it, Kugan could not pursue it as the contract said he had to serve a minimum of 2 years in a department.

Neither did Kugan feel dejected nor did he back down. He continued giving several qualification tests with unflinching determination, immense patience, courage and perseverance.

2013 proved to be the magical year when Asia Pacific Flight Training accepted him after he passed all the said exams. After completing his training, Kugan finally became a co-pilot last year.

We salute the spirit of this fine gentleman, whose story reiterates that if you are ferociously determined about something, it will come through!

Cover Image Courtesy: Facebook