Posted on Mar 5, 2022
Few women of color are pilots. United Airlines' flight school is changing that
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https://www.npr.org/2022/03/05/ [login to see] /few-women-of-color-are-pilots-united-airlines-flight-school-is-changing-that
As she sits comfortably in the cockpit of a small Cirrus SR20 airplane, 38-year-old Ricki Foster goes over her pre-flight checklist.
"Weight and balance under limits. Emergency equipment's on board," she says into her headset. "Pre-flight checklist complete."
With flight instructor Aiden Zabiegalski next to her, Foster fires up the single engine of this four-seat propeller-driven plane.
"We got the, we're all clear, so you can go ahead and start," Zabiegalski, 21, tells Foster. "Good luck!"
"Thank you," Foster responds.
As the engine roars to life, and the propeller starts spinning, she exclaims, "All right! She is ready to go!"
Foster is one of 30 members of the first class at United Airlines' new United Aviate Academy flight school, in Goodyear, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix.
As she sits comfortably in the cockpit of a small Cirrus SR20 airplane, 38-year-old Ricki Foster goes over her pre-flight checklist.
"Weight and balance under limits. Emergency equipment's on board," she says into her headset. "Pre-flight checklist complete."
With flight instructor Aiden Zabiegalski next to her, Foster fires up the single engine of this four-seat propeller-driven plane.
"We got the, we're all clear, so you can go ahead and start," Zabiegalski, 21, tells Foster. "Good luck!"
"Thank you," Foster responds.
As the engine roars to life, and the propeller starts spinning, she exclaims, "All right! She is ready to go!"
Foster is one of 30 members of the first class at United Airlines' new United Aviate Academy flight school, in Goodyear, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix.
Few women of color are pilots. United Airlines' flight school is changing that
Posted from npr.org
Flying
Goodyear
Phoenix
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...""We got the, we're all clear, so you can go ahead and start," Zabiegalski, 21, tells Foster. "Good luck!"
"Thank you," Foster responds.
As the engine roars to life, and the propeller starts spinning, she exclaims, "All right! She is ready to go!"
Foster is one of 30 members of the first class at United Airlines' new United Aviate Academy flight school, in Goodyear, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix.
Facing of a severe pilot shortage, airlines are ramping up efforts to recruit a new generation of pilots, and in the process, they're trying to open the cockpit door to women and people of color, who have been largely left out of the profession.
According to the federal bureau of labor statistics, about 94% of all aircraft pilots are male, and 93% are white. Narrowing the field down to commercial airline pilots, industry groups estimate that fewer than 7% of them are women, and only about 1% are women of color."...
...""We got the, we're all clear, so you can go ahead and start," Zabiegalski, 21, tells Foster. "Good luck!"
"Thank you," Foster responds.
As the engine roars to life, and the propeller starts spinning, she exclaims, "All right! She is ready to go!"
Foster is one of 30 members of the first class at United Airlines' new United Aviate Academy flight school, in Goodyear, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix.
Facing of a severe pilot shortage, airlines are ramping up efforts to recruit a new generation of pilots, and in the process, they're trying to open the cockpit door to women and people of color, who have been largely left out of the profession.
According to the federal bureau of labor statistics, about 94% of all aircraft pilots are male, and 93% are white. Narrowing the field down to commercial airline pilots, industry groups estimate that fewer than 7% of them are women, and only about 1% are women of color."...
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