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24-589: In 1973, Warner was the first woman pilot to be hired by a scheduled U.S. airline since Helen Richey was hired as a co-pilot in 1934. In 1976 Warner was the first woman to become a U.S. airline captain . Her career has been recognized by multiple halls of fame, including the National Aviation Hall of Fame and National Women’s Hall of Fame . Her pilot’s uniform is on display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum . In addition to piloting, Warner

48-402: A flight instructor after obtaining additional certificates as a commercial pilot and flight instructor, and instrument and multiengine ratings. She worked extra maintenance flights, such as delivering airplane parts or planes, in order to build her hours. She also flew with a reporter to provide traffic reports. From 1945 to 1968, Clinton Aviation Company operated at Stapleton Airport and was

72-651: A Frontier Airlines Boeing 737 . The flight departed from Denver's Stapleton Airport for Las Vegas. Within six months, she was promoted to first officer . In 1974, she became the first woman member of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). Three years later she became the first woman to earn her captain's wings. In 1976, she became the first woman US airline captain , flying a Twin Otter. Howell Warner continued to fly with Frontier until 1986. Warner stayed on when People Express purchased Frontier and then itself

96-610: A ceremony presided over by Jacqueline Cochran. Three weeks later, her mother died at their McKeesport home on October 2. In 1944, Richey was a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) and was stationed at the New Castle Army Air Base in Delaware , where she was responsible for ferrying military planes to and from Canada. In addition to being the first female commercial airline pilot, Richey also

120-959: A co-pilot in the Bendix race that same year with Amelia Earhart , she secured the women's light plane altitude record. During World War II , Richey became the first female pilot from Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania at the war front in Europe. Born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania on November 21, 1909, Helen Richey was a daughter of Joseph Burdette Richey (1865-1947), the superintendent of schools in McKeesport from 1902 to 1935, and Amy Seal (Winter) Richey (1872-1943). She and her siblings, Dewayne Greenwood Richey (1892-1940), Amy Lucile (Richey) Gamble (1893-1977), Martha (Richey) Smith (1900-1981), and Joseph Winter Richey (1907-1976), spent many of their formative years in McKeesport. A 1927 graduate of McKeesport High School, Helen Richey

144-426: A pill overdose. Her death was ruled a suicide . The Richmond Times-Dispatch and The Montana Standard reported that she had been under the care of a physician for depression at the time of her death. Her funeral was held in her hometown of McKeesport, Pennsylvania on January 10, 1947, and she was then interred at that community's Versailles Cemetery. Second officer (civil aviation) Second officer

168-441: Is a civil aviation rank, also known as junior first officer . It is used for pilots at an early stage of their career. Modern airliners only require two pilots, the captain and the first officer . Before a pilot is fully qualified to operate as first officer, they will typically act as a second officer, sitting in the right hand seat, while undergoing training and supervision from a training captain. A safety pilot will sit in

192-737: The Bendix Trophy Race . Richey and Earhart came in fifth, beating some all-male teams. Later, Richey flew with the British Air Transport Auxiliary during World War II . After a year of ferrying British airplanes, Richey resigned from her Air Transport position on March 31, 1943, and returned home to McKeesport to be closer to her ailing mother, saying, "I felt mother needed me." On September 11, 1943, Richey and professional golfer Helen Detweiler were awarded their Army Air Force wings at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas during

216-602: The Washington to Detroit route. The airline had restrictions placed upon Richey on when she could fly, limiting her to fair weather. She resigned before completing a year with the airlines. In May 1936, Helen Richey, flying a light plane, set an international altitude record for aircraft weighing under 200 kilograms (440 lb). She reached 18,448 feet (5,623 m) during a flight from Congressional Airport to Endless Caverns Airport in New Market , Virginia . Richey flew

240-473: The jump seat to monitor the junior first officer and the captain. In some airlines, a second officer is not permitted to take off or land the aircraft, and will only fly the aircraft during the cruise . At Singapore Airlines and Scoot , second officers are usually promoted to first officer after 5-8 months. In Ryanair UK , pilots are promoted from second officer to junior first officer when they achieve 500 hours of flight time . Airlines which use

264-539: The approval of her parents for lessons. The lessons cost thirteen dollars per week; at that time she had a thirty-eight dollar per week paycheck. She sometimes worked fourteen hours a day, with a morning flight, a full-time office job, and an evening flight. She obtained her private pilot license and got a job as a flying traffic reporter within a year. She took a job as a receptionist for Clinton Aviation Company in Denver, Colorado to pay for her instruction. She worked there as

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288-444: The aviation industry for more than twelve years. She had accrued more than 3,500 flight hours as a pilot and 7,000 hours as a flight instructor. Students she had trained were being hired with 1,500 to 2,000 hours of flying time. A friend who worked with Frontier introduced her to the vice president of flight operations there and Warner persisted in canvassing Frontier for a position. On January 29, 1973, Frontier Airlines hired her. It

312-538: The first company in the US to sell Cessna airplanes. It was founded by Lou Clinton and Grant Robertson. Warner initially flew for Clinton Aviation as a first officer on Convair 580s and de Havilland Twin Otters . In 1966, United Air Lines contracted a test pilot program with Clinton Aviation, and Emily served as one of three flight instructors for the program. She was later promoted to flight school manager and chief pilot. She became

336-462: The first woman to be appointed a designated FAA Pilot Examiner . In 1968, she began applying for a position at Frontier Airlines as well as Continental Airlines and United Airlines . Lou Clinton wrote letters recommending her. She would renew her applications multiple times over a five-year period. In late 1972, a fellow flight instructor said he was hired by Frontier Airlines, strengthening Warner's resolve. At this point, Warner had been active in

360-453: The same plane that Benjamin King had flown to break the record previously. Helen was hired by the federal government's Bureau of Air Transport to assist with air marking , the act of making large signs to assist aviators to know where they are at. After leaving Central Airlines, Richey continued to perform at air shows . In 1936 she teamed with Amelia Earhart in a transcontinental air race,

384-411: Was a Curtiss Thrush , named "Outdoor Girl" after its sponsor, a cosmetics brand. Marsalis had previously set an endurance record the previous year with Louise Thaden in another Thrush. The refuelling was achieved by opening the central hatch, grabbing a dangling hose out of a Curtiss Robin and shoving it into the gas tank, which Richey likened to "wrestling with a cobra in a hurricane". Marsalis

408-540: Was a flight school manager in Denver , Colorado . She was a flight instructor and FAA designated flight examiner holding multiple ratings. She flew more than 21,000 flight hours and performed more than 3,000 check rides and evaluations over her career. Warner died in 2020 from complications of a fall and Alzheimer's disease . Emily Howell Warner was born on October 30, 1939, to Emily Violet Boyd and John W. Hanrahan. She attended Holy Family High School in Colorado. Warner

432-504: Was a pioneering female aviator and the first woman to be hired as a pilot by a commercial airline in the United States . In 1933, she and her flying partner, Frances Harrell Marsalis, set a women's fueling endurance record of 237 hours and 42 minutes above the city of Miami in their airplane, the "Flying Boudoir." Three years later, Richey set a women's international light plane record of 100 kilometers traveled in 55 minutes. As

456-490: Was fifteen years after her first plane flight. This marked an opening for American women in one of the last sex-segregated occupations in the civilian aviation industry. When Warner was hired there were no other women working as pilots for the major commercial airlines. By 1978, there were about 300 female commercial pilots in the United States. On February 6, 1973, Howell Warner served for the first time as second officer on

480-472: Was interested in airplanes as a child. After graduating high school she looked into becoming a flight attendant . At seventeen, she decided on a career in piloting after her first trip on an airplane. She was allowed to sit in the cockpit of a plane flying her home after a trip away from Denver. Warner said, “The pilot could see how excited I was and he encouraged me to take flying lessons. I replied: ‘Can girls do that?’” She started flying in 1958, after getting

504-501: Was killed during the 1934 Women's Air Meet in Dayton. In 1934 Richey won the premier air race at the first National Air Meet for women in Dayton, Ohio . Also in 1934, Central Airlines , a Greensburg, Pennsylvania –based carrier that eventually became part of United Airlines , hired Richey as a pilot; she made her first regular civil flight with them on December 31, taking a Ford Trimotor on

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528-416: Was one of the few girls in McKeesport who wore pants during her teen years. She learned how to fly a plane at age 20. Her father subsequently bought her a Bird plane when she obtained her pilot's license. In December 1933 Richey partnered with another female pilot, Frances Marsalis , to set an endurance record by staying airborne for nearly 10 days over Miami, Florida , with midair refueling. Their aircraft

552-589: Was purchased by Continental Airlines . After a short time flying for Continental Airlines , she left to become captain of a Boeing 727 for UPS Airlines . She also flew a DC-8 for United Parcel Service. In 1986, she commanded an all-female flight crew. In 1990, she left UPS Airlines to become a Federal Aviation Administration examiner. She was the FAA Aircrew Program Manager, assigned to United Airlines ' Boeing 737 Fleet. Helen Richey Helen Richey (November 21, 1909 – January 7, 1947)

576-569: Was the first woman sworn in to pilot air mail and one of the first female flight instructors . Sometime during late May or early June of 1945, Richey injured her spine during an airplane accident. She spent several weeks recuperating at a private hospital in New York. Her sister, Amy, subsequently claimed that reports of Helen's accident and injury were untrue. Richey died in her apartment in New York City on January 7, 1947, apparently from

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