Terry London Rinehart is an American airline pilot. When she was hired by Western Airlines in 1976, she was the first woman pilot to fly for them and one of 10 women working as airline pilots in the United States.
Terry London Rinehart is an American airline pilot. When she was hired by Western Airlines in 1976, she was the first woman pilot to fly for them and one of 10 women working as airline pilots in the United States.
Rinehart grew up in Long Beach, California in a family of aviators. [1] Rinehart's mother, Barbara London, was a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP). [2]
Rinehart graduated from San Jose State University (SJSU) in 1974. [3] In 1976, she was hired by Western Airlines, becoming the first woman airline pilot to work at the company. [4] At the time, she was one of 10 women who worked as pilots in airlines based in the United States. [4] She went on to fly as a captain for Delta Air Lines after it purchased Western Airlines. [1] She started flying the Boeing 737, and later flew the 757 and 767. [5] Rinehart also has a helicopter pilots license and is a Whirly Girl. [1] Rinehart's husband, Bob Rinehart, is also a pilot, and their three children later went into the aviation field. [5]
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are involved in operating the aircraft's navigation and engine systems. Other aircrew members, such as drone operators, flight attendants, mechanics and ground crew, are not classified as aviators.
Jacqueline Cochran was an American pilot and business executive. She pioneered women's aviation as one of the most prominent racing pilots of her generation. She set numerous records and was the first woman to break the sound barrier on 18 May 1953. Cochran was the wartime head of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (1943–1944), which employed about 1000 civilian American women in a non-combat role to ferry planes from factories to port cities. Cochran was later a sponsor of the Mercury 13 women astronaut program.
Nancy Harkness Love, born Hannah Lincoln Harkness, was an American pilot and airplane commander during World War II. She earned her pilot's license at age 16. She worked as a test pilot and air racer in the 1930s. During World War II she convinced Colonel William H. Tunner of the U.S. Army Air Forces to look to set up a group of female pilots to ferry aircraft from factories to air bases. This proposal was eventually approved as the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron. Love commanded this unit and later all ferrying operations in the newly formed Women Airforce Service Pilots. She was awarded the Air Medal for her work during the war and was appointed lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force Reserve in 1948.
Nancy Bird Walton, was a pioneering Australian aviator, known as "The Angel of the Outback", and the founder and patron of the Australian Women Pilots' Association.
Candalyn "Candi" Kubeck was an American commercial airline pilot and the captain of ValuJet Flight 592. This flight crashed into the Everglades in 1996, after oxygen generators illegally placed inside a cargo hold, which started and maintained a fire that disrupted aircraft functionality and flooded the entire cabin and cockpit with smoke. The crash made Kubeck the first female captain to die in a commercial airline crash.
Gayl Angela Masson is an American aviator and artist. She flew for American Airlines for over 30 years and was the first woman licensed to fly the Boeing 747 as captain. Masson earned a PhD from the University of Southern California in 1976, specializing in aerospace safety and writing her dissertation on the Air Force's response to women as pilots. She set several speed records for commercial air routes and was the first woman to serve as Chief Pilot for American Airlines.
Deborah Jane Lawrie, known as Deborah Wardley while married, was the first woman to become a pilot with a major Australian airline after winning a landmark sex discrimination case against Ansett Airlines.
Rosella Marie Bjornson, is a retired Canadian airline pilot, who was the first woman in North America to be hired as a First Officer for a Canadian airline and the first woman member of the Canadian Air Line Pilots Association, International.
Julie E. Clark is a retired American aerobatic air show aviator and commercial airline pilot. She started her commercial flying career with Golden West Airlines as a first officer and ended it in 2003 as a Northwest Airlines Airbus A320 Captain. She was one of the first female pilots to work for a major airline, and has been voted as "Performer of the Year" several times for her air show performances.
Norah O'Neill was an American aviator who learned to fly in 1973 and became the first woman pilot for Alaska Central Air (1974) and the Flying Tiger Line (1976).
Emily Joyce Howell Warner was an American airline pilot and the first woman captain of a scheduled U.S. airline.
Women have been involved in aviation from the beginnings of both lighter-than air travel and as airplanes, helicopters and space travel were developed. Women pilots were also formerly called "aviatrices". Women have been flying powered aircraft since 1908; prior to 1970, however, most were restricted to working privately or in support roles in the aviation industry. Aviation also allowed women to "travel alone on unprecedented journeys". Women who have been successful in various aviation fields have served as mentors to younger women, helping them along in their careers.
Sandra L. Anderson was an airplane pilot with Northwest Airlines. She is known as a pioneer in the airline community and was one of the first women pilots to fly a commercial airliner.
This is a timeline of women in aviation which describes many of the firsts and achievements of women as pilots and other roles in aviation. Women who are part of this list have piloted vehicles, including hot-air balloons, gliders, airplanes, dirigibles and helicopters. Some women have been instrumental in support roles. Others have made a name for themselves as parachutists and other forms of flight-related activities. This list encompasses women's achievements from around the globe.
Barbara Erickson London was a Women Air-force Service Pilot (WASP) and a member of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). She was a ferry pilot – picking up and delivering various military aircraft to and from factories and airbases throughout the United States. She won the Air Medal, and was the only woman awarded one in World War II.
Maria Ziadie-Haddad is an airline pilot from Jamaica. She was the first woman commercial pilot hired by Air Jamaica and upon obtaining her qualifications as a captain became Air Jamaica's first woman captain. When the government divested its holding in the firm, Ziadie Haddad began flying commercial freight in the United States.
Patrice Washington is a Bahamian airplane pilot, whose career was marked by a series of firsts. She was the first black woman graduate of Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida; first woman pilot of Bahamasair; first black woman captain of a major U.S. air service and first black female pilot hired by the United Parcel Service.
Judy Cameron, is a Canadian retired commercial airline pilot. She was the first Canadian woman pilot to fly for Air Canada, the second woman to fly for a Canadian commercial airline, the first Canadian female captain of a Boeing 767 and the first Canadian female captain of a Boeing 777.
Beverley Bass is an American aircraft pilot and was the first female captain of an American Airlines commercial plane. She was hired in 1976 by American Airlines as their third female pilot. In 1986, Bass became the first female captain of a commercial plane at American Airlines and later that year she captained the first all-female crew in the history of commercial jet aviation, on an American Airlines flight from Washington D.C. to Dallas, Texas. She and pilot Stephanie Wallach founded the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, which began as a group of women aviators but later changed into a program providing career support and mentorship to aspiring pilots.