Captain Stephanie Johnson is the first Black female captain for Delta Airlines, the second of her historic achievements as a pilot. In 1997, Captain Johnson became the first Black female pilot for Northwest Airlines and in 2016, Delta promoted her to captain at Delta Airlines.
The Kent State University graduate caught the flying bug in high school after a physics teacher took Johnson and a few friends on a flight. Johnson even got to fly the airplane for a spell and from there, she was hooked. After leaving Kent State with a degree in Aerospace Technology, she became the instructor for the school’s aviation program.
After working a series of odd jobs, Johnson’s first flight job was with Mesa Airlines. She became Northwest Airline’s first Black woman pilot in 1997, before moving on to Delta. In a profile published by Delta, Johnson said that she’s the first of her family to graduate from college and was delighted by the fact that she’s a role model for aspiring pilots across all walks of life but most especially young women.
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