Ryan Garner, 17, has made aviation history by being the youngest and first African American to receive a private pilot’s license at Goose Creek Aiport.
The Indian Trail teen told WCNC, “I have always loved it since I was a kid. It’s a little adrenaline rush coming into the plane.”
Garner, a rising senior, studies at West Cabarrus High School, an aviation or aerospace engineering program school. Melissa Dixon, his mother, expressed her pleasure in her son’s success, declaring, “He’s the footprint… he is actually the footprint to future generations to come and say it’s possible.”
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Meanwhile, Garner announced his plan to “take it to the majors and go to the airlines.”
His mother said, “I trust his ability. I trust what he’s capable actually of doing. So yes, I am willing to go up and get that experience and actually just see life on a different level.”
Just last year, an 18-year-old African-American woman from Jamaica in New York became the youngest Black woman to be a Certified Private Pilot in her state.
“Finally got my Private Pilot’s license,” Ariel Messam wrote on Facebook. “Youngest black female in New York to do it too! I’m so grateful for those who made it possible. God is so good. I took my first flight at 14 years old and couple years and financial breaks later, I made it official.”
Research has shown over the years that the U.S. airline pilot population lacks diversity. Only 3.4% of U.S. airline pilots are Black, 2.2% are of Asian descent, and just 0.5% are Hispanic or Latino.
With a few Black male pilots to inspire other young Blacks, Garner is determined to create a path for others who look like him to emerge.
