United Airlines executed a Women’s History Month flight with an all-female crew last week. On Thursday morning, the plane took off from Newark Airport and traveled to Sarasota Bradenton International Airport in Florida.
The second Black female line check pilot in United’s history, Gabrielle Harding, took charge of the all-female crew on flight 1215 from EWR to SRQ.
Captain Harding is the only Black woman to fly commercially after graduating from Hampton University’s HBCU pilot program in 1997. She is also a member of the “Hampton 6,” which consists of all Hampton grads who are now captains at United Airlines, and the only woman in the group.
Harding expressed, “I love everything about flying. It gives me stability to be a mother, as well as to be able to travel to different places. I love every aspect of the job.”
Flying beside Harding on Thursday was First Officer Julia Ewalefo, who began her career with United Airlines as a flight attendant and conducted her first flight there. She had previously served as a flight attendant for Frontier Airlines before moving to the flight deck, where she flew for Endeavor before joining United.
She went on to say, “For the girls and the future generation — just knowing it’s possible for us, and just to be inspired and knowing that anything you wanna do, just put your mind to it.”
The flight crew from the initial flight, Flight 2612, arrived back in Newark from Sarasota at 2:12 p.m. on Thursday.
Women hold just 4.6% of the positions of air transport pilots, according to a 2022 study by the Women in Aviation Advisory Board. Harding said that one of her motivations for becoming a Line Check Pilot and training new hires was to assist them in overcoming obstacles.
“There’s always going to be a little bit of negative feedback that comes with it,” Harding said of women aspiring to become pilots. “That’s what fuels the soul, and that’s what makes you keeps on pushing.”
“Also, that was one of the things that made me want to become a line check pilot, so that I could help people like Julia get through those barriers so that they don’t have to go through some of the pushback that I had to go through.”
Four-year-old Cartier McDaniel from Denver miraculously survived after his heart stopped beating for 19 hours.…
A 21-year-old engineering student, Ibukun Quadri, avoided jail time after racially abusing England striker Callum…
For the past seven years, Denise Campbell and her two daughters, Chantel and Charnel Johnson,…
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have touched down in Lagos, marking their arrival in…
Natiajah, a hairstylist, went viral after giving a free installation to a mother of four…
Get to know Candace Parker; she is a WNBA legend who spent 16 years in…
Marcy Venture Partners (MVP), which was co-founded by musician turned entrepreneur Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, is…
Authorities in Suffolk County have brought charges against a 71-year-old Long Island pastor accused of…
Khaya Njumbe has become the youngest college graduate in Indiana after receiving a bachelor's degree…
A New Orleans federal jury awarded $185,000 to a teenager who accused a sheriff’s deputy…
Former Boston Celtics star Glen "Big Baby" Davis was on Thursday sentenced to 40 months…
Aziza Graves, a 43-year-old from San Francisco, has been found guilty of one felony count…
Llayna and Saniah Maul, identical twins, will graduate from Godby High School as valedictorian (top-ranked…
Floyd Mayweather is facing a lawsuit over an alleged assault involving a member of his…
In 2023, a report from SponsorUnited stated that former LSU star Angel Reese had the most NIL deals of any college basketball player.…