India's president fit to fly in fighter jet

Even on the day she goes on the sortie, she will be tested, just before she gets into the aircraft - the air force chief said.

India's 74-year-old president has been passed fit to fly in a supersonic Sukhoi-30 fighter jet later this month after undergoing a series of medical tests, the country's airforce chief said Friday.

- We have completely evaluated her health - chief air marshal P.V. Naik said of Pratibha Patil, the first female president who is usually seen on official business draped in her trademark loose cotton sari.

- She has been preparing for this for the last two months and she is medically fit - Naik told reporters.

The 1934-born president, the supreme commander of India's armed forces -- the world's fourth largest -- is slated to take a spin in the twin-seater cockpit of the Russian-built jet on November 25.

- Even on the day she goes on the sortie, she will be tested, just before she gets into the aircraft - the air force chief said.

Only if the president is medically fit on that particular day will she take the flight, he added.

Her predecessor, then 74-year-old Abdul Kalam, known as the architect of India's nuclear-capable missiles, flew in the supersonic jet in 2006.