Olga E. Custodio

First Latina to complete U.S. Air Force pilot training (1981); first female Hispanic commercial airline captain (American Airlines, 1988)

Olga Custodio, born Olga Esther Nevarez Nieves in San Juan, Puerto Rico, grew up moving internationally as a military dependent — Taiwan, New Jersey, Iran, Paraguay — before earning her bachelor's degree at the University of Puerto Rico. Her own university refused to admit her to its ROTC program because she was a woman, but that rejection didn't stop her: she entered U.S. Air Force Flight Screening in January 1980 anyway, was commissioned in 1981, and completed Undergraduate Pilot Training at Laughlin Air Force Base in the top 5 percent of her class — becoming the first Latina ever to complete Air Force pilot training. She went on to become the first female instructor pilot on the T-38 Talon supersonic jet trainer, first at Laughlin and later at Randolph Air Force Base, teaching new Air Force pilots to fly one of the military's most demanding training aircraft. She retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel in October 2003, after nearly 24 years of service. Her aviation career didn't stop at the military: American Airlines hired her in June 1988, and she flew the 727, Fokker 100, 757, and 767 over the following two decades, becoming the first female Hispanic captain at American Airlines. She retired from American in 2008 with more than 11,000 flight hours — a career spanning two entirely different aviation worlds, military and commercial, with a genuine "first" in each.

As a T-38 instructor pilot, Custodio taught new Air Force pilots to fly a demanding supersonic jet trainer; as an airline captain, she commanded passenger flights across four different aircraft types over two decades of commercial service.

Her path from military flight instructor to airline captain is a direct, real example of how military flight training credentials translate into a commercial aviation career — a path many Part 61 and commercial pilot students consider today.

Her own university denied her entry to its ROTC program for being a woman — she became a career Air Force pilot anyway.She retired from American Airlines in 2008 with more than 11,000 flight hours.

FAA official history ("Olga Custodio: The First Latina U.S. Military Pilot"); Wikipedia

Photo: United States Air Force · Public domain · Source

• Olga Custodio: The First Latina U.S. Military Pilot