History on Air
 |
||||
|
||||
 |
||||
Last month, when first officer Stephanie Grant of Atlantic Southeast Airlines got the call to replace the co-pilot scheduled to crew Flight No. 5202 from Atlanta to Nashville, she didn’t realize she and the rest of the crew were about to make history.
But Grant, along with Capt. Rachelle Jones, both members of the Airline Pilots (ALPA), and flight attendants Diana Galloway and Robin Rogers, both members of AFA-CWA, became the first all-female, all African American crew to operate a commercial flight. Coincidentally, it happened during Black History Month.
Grant told Atlanta’s WXIA TV:
When I got to the cockpit and I saw Rachelle–we just met a few weeks prior–I was just ecstatic when I saw her in there.
At first, Rogers said:
We did not realize the historic ramifications of it. We were just like, OK, this is going to be fun.
But, Jones, a former Delta Airlines customer service agent and one of just 10 African American women airline captains in the country, recalled thinking:
This could be a first, so let’s be on our P’s and Q’s.
Galloway said the thrill of working together put:
a little more pep in our step. I think we were just so proud.
As a youngster and even into adulthood, Jones said, she never thought about a career as a pilot. It wasn’t until a friend’s suggestion several years ago that she decided she wanted fly.
Growing up, I’d never seen anyone who looks like me who flew airplanes.
Grant, whose aviation career took off in the Army, said while “fate” may have put the four women together on the same flight:
For everyone who will look at us as role models or aspire to be what we are today, they need to know that it took hard work and dedication to get here.
Capt. David Nieuwenhuis, chairman of ALPA’s Master Executive Council at Atlantic Southeast, said:
I am especially proud that this historic flight happened to take place on Atlantic Southeast. This professional flight crew sets a great example for young women, showing they can achieve their goals and dreams in the aviation sector.
A tip of the hat to our friends at ALPA for alerting us to the story. For more on African Americans and women in aviation, visit the Organization of Black Airline Pilots (OBAP) and Women in Aviation International (WAI).
