List of women aviators

Aida de Acosta flying the airship Baladeuse in 1903 – the first woman to pilot a powered aircraft

This is a list of women aviators — women prominent in the field of aviation as constructors, designers, pilots and patrons.

It also includes a list of their relevant organisations such as the Betsy Ross Air Corps and Women's Royal Air Force.

Individuals

A

  • Amen Aamir, first women from Gilgit-Baltistan to qualify as a pilot
  • Asli Hassan Abade, First African female fighter jet pilot. A prominent Somali Air Force pilot, military figure, and civil activist.
  • Aida de Acosta (1884–1962), first woman to fly a powered aircraft alone[1]
  • Margaret Adams, Australian aviator; first president of the Australian Women's Flying Club, in 1938
  • Zoya Agarwal, world's youngest woman pilot to fly the Boeing 777 (2013), captained world's longest flight route over North Pole (2021)
  • Leman Altınçekiç (1932–2001), first female accredited jet pilot (1958) in Turkey and NATO.
  • Gaby Angelini (1911–1932), first Italian woman to complete a trans-European flight
  • Princess Anne of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (1864–1927), second woman to attempt a flight across the Atlantic. Her plane never arrived, with she and her crew presumed dead.
  • Kimberly Anyadike (born 1994), youngest African-American female pilot to complete a transcontinental flight
  • Cecilia Aragon (born 1960), first Latina pilot on the United States Aerobatic Team[2]
  • Tamar Ariel (1989–2014), Israel's first Jewish female religiously observant air force pilot, in 2012
  • Jacqueline Auriol (1917–2000), French test pilot who rivalled Jacqueline Cochran in breaking speed records[3]
  • Micky Axton (1919–2010), one of the first three Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs) to be trained as a test pilot; first woman to fly a B-29
Lilian Bland flying the Mayfly in 1911. She built the aircraft herself to become the first woman to fly in Ireland.

B

Willa Brown, the first African-American woman to receive a commission as a lieutenant in the U.S. Civil Air Patrol
  • Mary, Lady Bailey (1890-1960), Anglo-Irish aviator who flew from Croydon to Cape Town and back again, at the same time that her friend, Mary, Lady Heath, was making her one-way flight from Cape Town to Croydon.
  • Pancho Barnes (1901–1975), granddaughter of balloonist Thaddeus Lowe; founded the Women's Air Reserve, Associated Motion Picture Pilots and became the "mother of the Air Force"[4][5]
  • Mary Barr (1925–2010), first female pilot to join the US Forest Service and become National Aviation Safety Officer[6]
  • Jean Batten (1909–1982), made first solo flight from United Kingdom to New Zealand in the 1930s
  • Ann Baumgartner (1918–2008), test pilot; first American woman to fly a U.S. Army Air Forces jet aircraft (a Bell YP-59A jet fighter)
  • Amelie Beese (1886–1925), first woman pilot in Germany[7]
  • Elly Beinhorn (1907–2007), German enthusiast who made long-distance flights on every continent and flew around the world[8]
  • Velta Benn (1917–2010), American pilot, first woman to land a military jet on a Navy aircraft carrier[9]
  • Dagny Berger (1903–1950), Norway's first woman aviator
  • Susana Ferrari Billinghurst (1914–1999), Argentinian pilot; first woman in South America to gain a commercial pilot's license, in 1937
  • Lilian Bland (1878–1971), built her own aircraft; first woman to fly in Ireland[10]
  • Line Bonde (born c.1979), first Danish woman to become a fighter pilot, in 2006
  • Maude Bonney (1897–1994), Australian aviator who was the first female to fly from England to Australia in 1933 and to South Africa in 1937.
  • Ana Branger (born early 1920s), early Venezuelan aviator
  • Jill E. Brown (born 1950), first African American female pilot for a major US carrier
  • Willa Brown (1906–1992), first black woman to hold both a commercial and private license in the US; founded the National Negro Airmen Association of America; first black female to be an officer in the Civil Air Patrol[11]
  • Mrs Victor Bruce (1895–1990), born Mildred Mary but most famous by her married name; first woman to fly around the world alone and the first to be prosecuted for speeding[12][13]
  • Millicent Bryant (1878–1927), first woman to earn a pilot's license in Australia
  • Beverly Burns (born 1949), American pilot, possibly the first woman to captain a jumbo jet (see Lynn Rippelmeyer)[14]

C

Bessie Coleman in 1922
Amelia Earhart standing under nose of her Lockheed Model 10-E Electra

D

E

  • Amelia Earhart (1897–1937), first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic[28]
  • Amelia Rose Earhart (born 1983), reporter and pilot
  • Ruth Elder (1902–1977), pilot and actress known as the "Miss America of Aviation"[29]
  • Mary Ellis (1917–2018), one of the last surviving British women pilots from World War II
  • Lotfia Elnadi (1907–2002), the first African woman, first Arab woman, and first Egyptian woman to earn her pilot’s license in 1933.

F

  • Rosina Ferrario (1888–1957), first Italian woman to receive a pilot's license, in January 1913
  • Amalia Celia Figueredo (1895–1985), Argentine aviator; first woman in Argentina, and possibly Latin America, to obtain a pilot's license in 1914 with Paul Castaibert
  • Kathleen Fox (born 1951), Canadian flight instructor, air traffic controller and business executive
  • Mathilde Franck (1866–1956), early French aviator; learned to fly in 1910
  • Elisabeth Friske (died 1987), first West German woman to become a commercial airline pilot
  • Wally Funk (born 1939), one of the Mercury 13; first female air safety investigator at the FAA[30]

G

World's first female combat pilot, Sabiha Gökçen.
  • Maggie Gee (1923–2013), American aviator who served in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) in World War II
  • Julie Ann Gibson (born 1956), Flight Lieutenant Julie Ann Gibson was the first full-time female pilot for the Royal Air Force when she graduated in 1991
  • Betty Gillies (1908–1998), pioneering American aviator; first pilot to qualify for the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron
  • Ninel Gharajyan (1916-2001) became the first Armenian woman pilot and parachutist.[31]
  • Maya Ghazal, Syrian refugee and pilot
  • Sabiha Gökçen (1913–2001), adopted by Kemal Atatürk; World's first female combat pilot[32]
  • Patricia Graham (1928–2016), Australian aviator, founding member of the Australian Women Pilots' Association in 1950
  • Frances Wilson Grayson (1892-1927), disappeared, presumed dead, while flying from Long Island to Newfoundland, where she and her crew had planned to attempt at a transatlantic flight.
  • Valentina Grizodubova (1909–1993), long distance flyer and wartime hero; the most decorated woman in the Soviet Union[33]
  • Mette Grøtteland (born 1969), first female fighter pilot of The Royal Norwegian Air Force.

H

J

K

L

  • Raymonde de Laroche (1882–1919), first woman in the world to get a pilot's license[39]
  • Constance Leathart (1903–1993), first British woman outside London to get a pilot's license[40]
  • Hazel Ying Lee (1912–1944), Chinese-American pilot who flew for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II
  • Olga Lisikova (1916–2011), only woman pilot-in-command of a C-47 Skytrain in the Soviet Air Force
  • Lydia Litvyak (1921–1943), fighter ace; first woman to shoot down an aircraft[41]
  • Ila Loetscher (1904–2000), female aviation pioneer and activist on behalf of sea turtles
  • Rose Lok (1912–1978), first female Chinese-American pilot in New England
  • Linda Pauwels (1963–), First Latina Captain and First Latina Check Airman at American Airlines, as well as the youngest woman jet captain (cargo) at age 25

M

  • Elsie MacGill (1905–1980), world's first female aircraft designer, known as "Queen of the Hurricanes"
  • Elsie Mackay (1893-1928), former actress and daughter of Viscount Inchcape, who went missing, presumed dead, during an attempt to fly the Atlantic from England to Long Island.
  • Beryl Markham (1902–1986), first woman to fly west across the Atlantic alone, direct from England to North America[42]
  • Marie Marvingt (1875–1963), first woman to fly from Europe to England across the North Sea by balloon[43]
  • Angela Masson (born 1951), first woman to qualify to fly a jumbo jet[44]
  • Luisa Elena Contreras Mattera (1922–2006), in 1943, first woman to be granted a pilot's license in Venezuela
  • Marie McMillin (1902–1954), American aviator, served in the Women's Army Corps
  • Suzanne Melk (1908–1951), the first known woman in France to fly and the first woman in Europe to receive a pilot's license in 1935
  • Pamela Melroy (born 1961), former NASA astronaut who served as pilot and commander on Space Shuttle missions
  • Betty Miller (1926–2018), first woman to fly solo across the Pacific[45]
  • Violet Milstead (1919–2014), Canadian Air Transport Auxiliary pilot during WWII and the first female bush pilot
  • Karina Miranda, Chilean Air Force combat aviator and the first woman from her country to break the sound barrier
  • Jerrie Mock (1925–2014), first woman to fly solo around the world[46]
  • Matilde Moisant (1878-1964), second American woman to earn her pilot's license, won the Ron-Wadamaker Trophy for breaking the women's world altitude record about a month after qualifying. Gave up flying following a near-fatal crash on April 14, 1912.[47]
  • Jennifer Murray (born 1940), first woman to fly solo around the world in a helicopter[48][49]
  • Siza Mzimela, founder of South African airline

N

O

  • Sicele O'Brien (1887–1931), one of Ireland's pioneering female pilots who raced and set records in Europe and Africa in the 1920s
  • Ruth Law Oliver, (1887–1970), American aviator who looped the loop twice at Daytona Beach in 1915. Went on to be the first woman pilot to wear a military uniform, and the first to deliver air mail to the Philippines[51]
  • Susan Oliver (1932–1990).
  • Phoebe Omlie (1902–1975), first woman to receive an airplane mechanic's license; first licensed woman transport pilot

P

  • Beverly Pakii, first female Papua New Guinean jet captain
  • Suzanne Parish (1922–2010), member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots; co-founder of the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum
  • Ingrid Pedersen (1933–2012), first woman to fly over the North Pole[52]
  • Thérèse Peltier (1873–1926), French aviator; first woman to pilot a heavier-than-air craft at Turin in 1908

Q

  • Harriet Quimby (1875–1912), first woman to get a U.S. pilot's license and fly across the English Channel[53]

R

S

Blanche Scott, the "Tomboy of the Air"
Neta Snook, who taught Amelia Earhart how to fly

T

V

W

  • Eleanor Wadsworth (1917–2020), English pilot and architect[79]
  • Patty Wagstaff (born 1951), first woman to win the US Aerobatic Championship[80]
  • Nancy Bird Walton (1915–2009), pioneering Australian aviator who founded the Australian Women Pilots' Association
  • Zheng Wang (Julie Wang, Wang Zheng, 王争) (born 1972), first Asian woman to circumnavigate Earth in an airplane, first Chinese person to fly solo around-the-world; first Chinese female pilot to fly around the world[81][82][83]
  • Emily Howell Warner (1939–2020), first woman captain of a scheduled US airline
  • Mora Weir (c 1891-1979) first woman to hold a rotorcraft licence, regularly flew her husband JG Weir from their home Skelton House in Ayrshire to the Weirs factory (now Weir Group) in Cathcart Glasgow[84]
  • Jo Claire Welch (1939-2018) Believed to be the first US woman hired as a commercial co-pilot, beginning 1969, for domestic commuter airline, Air East, with a flight from Houston to Austin
  • Fay Gillis Wells (1908–2002), founder member of the Ninety-Nines and its first secretary;[85] one of the earliest female members of the Caterpillar Club[86]
  • Cicely Ethel Wilkinson (c.1882–1967), pioneering British pilot
  • Zoey Williams, first Black female pilot to fly a Boeing 777 for Air Canada[87]
  • Benedetta Willis (1914–2008), one of the first 5 women to get RAF wings, in the 1950s.
  • Chresten Wilson (born 1962), First woman to become the most senior pilot at a major US airline (United Airlines, May 2026)
  • Edna Gardner Whyte (1902–1992), trained many military pilots in WWII; first female member of the Daedalian fraternity[88][89]
  • Lucyna Wlazło-Bajewska Krzywonos (1928–2007), Polish glider pilot and instructor, set 6 world records and 11 national records

Y

Z

Organisations

See also

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Ashcroft, Bruce (2006), Latinas in the United States: a historical encyclopedia, Indiana University Press, pp. 188–189, ISBN 0-253-34681-9
  2. ↑ Ball, Edmund F. (1993), Rambling Recollections of Flying and Fliers, Minnetrista Cultural Center, ISBN 0-9623291-8-5
  3. ↑ Douglas Martin (17 February 2000), "Jacqueline Auriol, Top French Test Pilot, 82", The New York Times
  4. ↑ Randal Fulkerson (2003), "Barnes, Florence "Pancho" Lowe", Encyclopedia of Women in the American West, SAGE Publications, pp. 26–27, ISBN 9781452265261
  5. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 136–141.
  6. ↑ Morgan, Woody (6 February 2001). "Aviation hall of fame induction next for Barr". Lassen County Times. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  7. ↑ Lebow 2003, p. 98.
  8. ↑ Ruffin 2011, p. 84.
  9. ↑ National Transportation Safety Board Decisions: Enforcement Decisions in Aviation and Marine Cases. U.S. Government Printing Office. August 31, 2016. p. 940. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
  10. ↑ Lebow 2003, pp. 203–214.
  11. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 90–96.
  12. ↑ John Bullock (2002), "The Remarkable Mrs Victor Bruce", Fast Women, p. 43, ISBN 9781861054883
  13. ↑ Elizabeth S. Bell (1994), Sisters of the Wind: Voices of Early Women Aviators, p. 78, ISBN 9780962387944
  14. 1 2 Gibson 2013, p. 145.
  15. ↑ Pereyra, Lucía (3 October 2024). "Traniela Campolieto: la piloto trans que comanda el avión más grande de Aerolíneas Argentinas". La Nación (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  16. ↑ Diane Langmore (2007). "Casey, Lady Ethel Marian (Maie) (1891–1983)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
  17. ↑ Team, Centennial (2015-07-25). "Touria Chaoui - Morocco". Women in Aviation & Space History. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  18. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 79–83.
  19. ↑ Donald James, "Meet: Jerrie Cobb, First woman to undergo the testing developed for the selection of the Mercury Astronauts", Female Frontiers, NASA, archived from the original on 2016-10-04, retrieved 2015-08-16
  20. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 197–202.
  21. ↑ Rhonda Smith-Daugherty (2012), Jacqueline Cochran: Biography of a Pioneer Aviator, McFarland, ISBN 9780786489961
  22. ↑ "Bessie Coleman (1892 -1926)", Fly Girls, PBS, 1999, archived from the original on January 25, 2000
  23. ↑ "Rawlinson Creason, Mary". MDOT. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  24. ↑ Shayler David, Ian Moule (2006), Women in Space, Springer, p. 33, ISBN 9781846280788
  25. ↑ Williams, Craig (15 July 2023). "Glasgow mural to pay homage to Scottish aviation pioneer". The Herald. Retrieved 5 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ↑ Marcus Williamson (18 May 2015), "The Dowager Marchioness of Reading: Society beauty who defied convention to fly planes and race cars, and outraged many with her views on hooligans", The Independent
  27. ↑ Lebow 2003, pp. 44–64.
  28. ↑ Welch 1998, p. 63.
  29. ↑ "The Ruth Elder Page of the Parks Airport Register Web Site". Parksfield.org. Archived from the original on 2019-03-24. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
  30. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 148–154.
  31. ↑ "Ninel Gharajyan once lived here". 10 January 2017.
  32. ↑ M. Şükrü Hanioğlu (2011-05-09), Ataturk: An Intellectual Biography, p. 210, ISBN 978-1400838172
  33. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 118–124.
  34. ↑ "Pilot becomes first female Inuk captain for Air Inuit". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
  35. ↑ Claire Cohen (17 March 2015), "Cape Town to Cairo in a Forties plane: Meet Britain's daredevil female aviatrix", Daily Telegraph
  36. ↑ Gail Hewlett (2010), Old Bird: The Irrepressible Mrs Hewlett, Matador, ISBN 9781848763371
  37. ↑ "Mary Goodrich Jenson" Archived 2019-04-04 at the Wayback Machine. Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame.
  38. ↑ Constance Babington Smith (2004), Amy Johnson, Sutton, ISBN 9780750937030
  39. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 8–15.
  40. ↑ Constance Leathart: The forgotten 'aviatrix' of WW2, BBC, 9 October 2015
  41. ↑ Henry Sakaida (2012), Heroines of the Soviet Union 1941–45, Osprey, p. 14, ISBN 9781780966519
  42. ↑ Mary S. Lovell (2011), Straight on Till Morning: The Life of Beryl Markham, W. W. Norton, ISBN 9780393342086
  43. ↑ Françoise Baron Boilley (2013), Marie Marvingt: A l'aventure du sport, Editions L'Harmattan, ISBN 9782336323800
  44. ↑ Thomas 1996, p. 29.
  45. ↑ Gene Nora Jessen (2002), "Ocean Flying", Powder Puff Derby Of 1929, Sourcebooks, p. 269, ISBN 9781402229725
  46. ↑ Douglas 2015, p. 161.
  47. ↑ "Women in Aviation and Space History". Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Archived from the original on 2021-12-05. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
  48. ↑ "Chopper granny rounds globe", The Guardian, 6 September 2000
  49. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 186–191.
  50. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 172–178.
  51. ↑ Tony Dedal (2008), Wings Over the Philippines, p. 9, ISBN 978-9711011819
  52. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 161–166.
  53. ↑ "Harriet Quimby (1875 – 1912)", Fly Girls, PBS, 1999, archived from the original on January 25, 2000
  54. ↑ Lebow 2003, pp. 131–144.
  55. ↑ "Women in Arizona Aviation: A Brief History, with a focus on the Phoenix/Mesa area". AAHS Journal. 67 (2). American Aviation Historical Society. 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  56. ↑ Robert S. Wistrich (2013), Who's Who in Nazi Germany, Routledge, pp. 199–200, ISBN 9781136413889
  57. ↑ Veronica Horwell (6 October 2008), "Margaret Ringenberg", The Guardian
  58. ↑ Jacky Hyams (2012), "Molly Rose", The Female Few: Spitfire Heroines of the Air Transport Auxiliary, The History Press, ISBN 9780752481227
  59. ↑ Ernst Probst (2010), Melitta Gräfin Schenk von Stauffenberg: Deutsche Heldin mit Gewissensbissen, GRIN Verlag, ISBN 9783640545735
  60. ↑ Romero, Maristela (February 12, 2026). "Vietnam-era flight nurse champions veteran health advocacy". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  61. ↑ Julie Cummins (2001), Tomboy of the Air: Daredevil Pilot Blanche Stuart Scott, HarperCollins, ISBN 9780060291389
  62. ↑ Kirstin Olsen (1994), Chronology of Women's History, p. 321, ISBN 0313288038
  63. ↑ Carol Butler (2016), "A Conversation with Betty Skelton Frankman, Aviatrix Pioneer and the "Fastest Woman on Earth"", Quest: The History of Spaceflight, vol. 23, no. 3, ISSN 1065-7738
  64. ↑ Patricia Sullivan (24 March 2010), "Pioneering pilot Elinor Smith Sullivan dies at 98", The Washington Post
  65. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 67–71.
  66. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 192–196.
  67. ↑ Amy Waters Yarsinske (2010), Flyboys Over Hampton Roads: Glenn Curtiss's Southern Experiment, History Press, p. 94, ISBN 9781596299726
  68. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 32–40.
  69. ↑ Shepherd 2004, p. 22.
  70. ↑ "Women in Aviation and Space History – Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  71. ↑ Strassmann, W. Paul (2008). The Strassmanns : science, politics, and migration in turbulent times, 1793–1993 (English language ed.). New York: Berghahn Books. ISBN 9781845454166. OCLC 145396526.
  72. ↑ Sakaida, Henry (2003). Heroines of the Soviet Union 1941–45. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 55. ISBN 9781780966922.
  73. ↑ Janann Sherman (2004), "Thaden, Louise", Notable American Women, vol. 5, Harvard University Press, pp. 633–634, ISBN 9780674014886
  74. ↑ Shepherd 2004, p. 36.
  75. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 61–66.
  76. ↑ "Every woman can be a high flyer | Times Aerospace". www.timesaerospace.aero. September 13, 2018. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  77. ↑ "Ninety Niner Alia becomes City Liveryman | Times Aerospace". www.timesaerospace.aero. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
  78. ↑ Elizabeth Purdy (2011), "Women in Aviation", Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World, vol. 1, SAGE, p. 115, ISBN 9781412976855
  79. ↑ "Obituary: Eleanor Wadsworth, 'Attagirl' who flew fighter planes during Second World War". The Scotsman. 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  80. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 155–160.
  81. ↑ "Chinese pilot completes solo around-the-world flight". www.aopa.org. 2016-09-21. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  82. ↑ "index.php". earthrounders.org. Archived from the original on 2016-12-02. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  83. ↑ "AOPA China Honors Julie Wang (Wang Zheng), First Chinese Person to Fly Solo Around-the-World, at AirShow China 2016". Yahoo7 Finance Australia. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  84. ↑ Winton, Cameron (27 June 2025). "Glasgow Southside in aviation history – G&J Weir and the Autogiro". SGHET. Retrieved 29 November 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  85. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 179–185.
  86. ↑ Douglas Martin (9 December 2002), "Fay Gillis Wells, 94, Aviator and Journalist", The New York Times
  87. ↑ Mubarik, Abu (February 22, 2025). "At 27, Zoey Williams is Air Canada's first Black female pilot to fly a Boeing 777". Face2Face Africa. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  88. ↑ "Edna Gardner Whyte, Aviator, 89", The New York Times, 20 February 1992
  89. ↑ Gibson 2013, pp. 72–78.
  90. ↑ Tim Brady (2000), "Women in Aviation", The American Aviation Experience: A History, SIU Press, p. 401, ISBN 9780809323715
  91. ↑ Thomas 1996.

Sources

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