“As long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with airplanes and would think, ‘What a great thing it would be to know how to fly,’”

Stephanie Johnson is no stranger to flying, she has been at the controls for 20 years now! However, what is new is the fact that last year, she became Delta Airline’s first black female captain, smashing that glass ceiling!

Source: News.Delta.com

She sat down with Delta News Hub to give an interview and below is an excerpt of that. Read the full interview here.

DNH: What was your inspiration to become a pilot?

Capt. Stephanie Johnson: There were no pilots in my life growing up, and I think I’m the first person in my family to graduate from college. But for as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with airplanes and would think, “What a great thing it would be to know how to fly.”

In high school my physics teacher, Mr. White, mentioned that he had an airplane, and I asked him if he’d ever take students flying. He agreed as long as I could get a couple of my friends to come and pay for gas. I was so excited and thought it was such a generous offer – I found my two bravest friends and we set a date.

Taking off from Burke Lakefront Airport [in Cleveland] in his Piper Cherokee was the thrill of my life. Once we were airborne, he actually let me fly the airplane. I will never forget looking out at the horizon and Lake Erie over one wing and the city of Cleveland over the other. My interest was fueled.

DNH: What was your career path to becoming a pilot?

SJ: I learned to fly in college, at Kent State University. I became a flight instructor before I had ever even taken a commercial flight. Today, their aviation program is still going strong.

As I was training, I worked several jobs, including at Blockbuster video and in airport operations. After building flight time as an instructor, I was hired by a commuter carrier, where I was able to earn enough good flight experience to apply for a job at Northwest Airlines, and I was hired as their first African-American female pilot in 1997.

DNH: In addition to being Northwest’s first African-American female pilot, you’re also Delta’s first African-American female captain. What does it mean to you to be a history maker?

SJ: I feel a great sense of responsibility to be a positive role model. There are so few women in this profession and too many women who still don’t think of it as a career option. When I was hired by Northwest Airlines, there were 12 African-American women airline pilots in the country at the major airlines, and I knew all of their names.