Two Black Women Makes History Becoming First Pilots Of Alaska Airlines

Photo by Google Images
Captain Tara Wright and Officer Mallory Cave
First Black Female Pilots of Alaska Airlines

Congratulations to Captain Tara Wright and Officer Mallory Cave on becoming the first Black women to fly a plane in Alaska!

According to KTVA, Sunday, on Mother's Day, Captain Tara Wright and Officer Mallory who were apart of the first ever Black women flight crew, flew Flight 361 from San Francisco to Portland. Before take off the pilots spoke to the passengers on the intercom to announce that they were apart of history while making a video for Facebook.

“Finally, you’re sharing a pretty interesting piece of Alaska Airlines history this morning,” Wright told passengers, who erupted into applause. “You’ll be piloted by two female African-American pilots for the first time in the airline’s history.”

Becoming the first Black female pilots is an extraordinary accomplishment, especially since Black female employees in the airline industry is very rare. Similar to deck crews and captains in the boating industry most of the employees are White. 

According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 72 percent of airline employees are White and 60 percent of them are male. Across various airlines 91 percent of pilots and 73 percent of flight attendants are white, with only 9 percent being female.

Tamara M. Anderson

@mstekeyla

@mahoganymagazin