CHINYERE KALU, Nigeria's First Female Pilot

You might have probably noticed this if you are a Nigerian: Stuck in heavy traffic somewhere along Adeniji Adele Interchange towards Oworonshoki/Toll Gate, late for work, horns are honking like mad and drivers are already having hypertension behind the wheels. Then suddenly, the whole logjam eases and at the center of the delay was an elegant Nigerian woman decked in colourful ankara and gele tapanpa (damask-like headgear) and irresistible make-up in her posh 2013 Nissan Armada. The traffic flows and you hear the male drivers sneering derisively: 'Abalajo, obinrin ni (no wonder, the driver is a lady.') LOL! Yeah, some Nigerian men talk like they've been driving from the womb and females can never be good on the road. Hey, chill out dude, this is not Saudi Arabia! Today, I am writing on the female Amazons and the real birds of Nigeria: women who have not just conquered the four-wheeled vehicles, but have taken to ruling the skies where many male drivers turn jelly. And yes, I start with the very first of them all: CAPTAIN (MRS.) CHINYERE KALU, Member of the Order of the Federal Republic and the Ada Ugo I (Daughter of an Eagle) of Abia State.

Read all here and enjoy more pictures of other female pilots: http://.com/chinyere-kalu-nigerias-first-female-pilot/

OVERVIEW:
-ORIGIN/FAMILY
-TRAINING
-MOTIVATION
-FLYING EXPERIENCE & AIR CRASH
-CHALLENGES
-TIME AND ACHIEVEMENTS AT NCAT
-MEMBERSHIP/HONOURS & AWARDS
-WHAT SHE HAS TO TELL YOU[/b]


ORIGIN/FAMILY
Captain Chinyere Kalu, MFR hails from Ukwa East (Abia State) is married to Mr. Kalu Okoli which makes her a citizen of Ohafia Local Government (also Abia) by marriage. Their marriage is blessed with three wonderful children: two daughters (now in the United States where one is pursuing her doctorate degree and the other, her masters) and a son. She did not grow up with her dad (parents had separated) so that explains the great degree of female influence over her. None of her kids have decided to be a pilot and many of the m remain unconvinced about her career until October 2011 when President Goodluck Jonathan appointed her the Rector and Chief Executive of Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) (formerly Nigerian Civil Aviation Training Center), the largest aviation training institute in Africa surpassing even those of South Africa. Prior to that, she was the Head of the College's Flying School as an instructor on contract agreement.

TRAINING
Upon deciding she wanted to be a pilot, she got tremendous support from her family and no one was opposed to her move. She narrated that a major source of motivation for her was her aunt, her mum's elder sister (who had a lot of influence in the family) who was a celebrity in the village for being the first person to travel to the United Kingdom (obodo Oyinbo thins..lol). Her aunt was well-travelled and saw nothing wrong in her dream, and once she gave her stamp of approval as the matriarch of the house, everyone else followed suit and she began her journey into the adventurous world of pilots, the real birds. She said of her aunt: When I mentioned the idea of flying, she welcomed the idea having been the first person in my village to go to UK. She did nursing; she was a trail blazer so to speak. And having been that exposed she just felt, this is your opportunity don’t even look back, just make the most of it, grab it. Later, while in Lagos, she saw an NCAT advert in the newspaper, she applied, had rigorous interviews and was offered an admission slot. On the 20th of May, 1981, as Miss Chinyere Onyenucheya, she received her commercial pilot's license. A passionate lover of knowledge and education, the following is an overview of her education and training:

-Anglican Girls Grammar School, Yaba, Lagos (primary education also in Lagos).
-Trained as Private and Commercial Pilot, SP.12 Batch, NCAT, Zaria (1978)
-Air Transport Pilot License (ATPL) Course, Bolivia Aviation, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
-Aircraft Accident Investigation and Prevention Course, Federal Aviation Administration, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.
-Flight Instructor's Rating, Civil Aviation Authority, Oxford, United Kingdom.
-Commercial Pilot License (CPL/IR), NCAT, Zaria
-Postgraduate Diploma, Transport Management and Logistics, Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria.
-Airborne Collision Avoidance/T-CAS Training for Air Traffic Controllers Course.
-Pilots Human Performance and Limitations/Crew Resources Management/Human Factors Course.

MOTIVATION
When asked what motivated her into the risky career path of flying full of testosterone-driven men, she said: Well, I will say that the motivating factor is just an adventurous spirit, to venture out to see what is out there. I felt flying will be challenging and I didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing at the time. I wanted something unique, something special, something challenging, something that I feel will be fulfilling. So, that is what led me into flying. I also thought it will be a good opportunity to travel all over the world and being paid for it. Can you imagine that? So those are the motivating factors. (Follow link above to read the rest, thank you!)

Igbo kwenu! Ur daughters are representing.

^^
Really?? I mean really??

, tanks for d piece. expectn more!

Sure! Working on more! Thank you!

angel TI: , tanks for d piece. expectn more!

^u don take ur afternoon dose? kindly do!

Another Igbo doing exploits. But to be honest, if I enter an aircraft and i find out the captain is a woman, I'm disembarking immediately. if I don't find out, then cool. Ignorance is bliss.

I'm proud of you madam

Please take easy with the tribalism.

Interesting story....especially as she started out in a different and conventional career path.

Kalu also seems to be a popular surname in Abia.

Thumbs up

50calibre: Another Igbo doing exploits. But to be honest, if I enter an aircraft and i find out the captain is a woman, I'm disembarking immediately. if I don't find out, then cool. Ignorance is bliss.

It's 2013. No need for the chauvinistic attitude. A pilot is a pilot...all on equal footing with years of experience and number of flights being the only difference...gender-less

If you want logic, then 99.99999% of all the plane crashes have all been committed by men. Yet, you wouldn't hesitate to once a gain trust them with your safety.

She is not d first female pilot. D 1st was murdered by her house help 6 to 7yrs ago though she is an igbo too.

nice one but the woman be like person wey like fight, see that big scar for her face

@aniispice, sorry u get AIDS VIA SE.X, so pity 4 u.
@topic, 9ce Mrs chinyere Kalu

Fidtad: She is not d first female pilot. D 1st was murdered by her house help 6 to 7yrs ago though she is an igbo too.

name pls, since my primary school na Mrs chinyere Kalu i dy hear so ds u own get as it b ooo

Fidtad: She is not d first female pilot. D 1st was murdered by her house help 6 to 7yrs ago though she is an igbo too.

Did you read the part stating that she got her professional license in 1981? The pilot murdered some years back, Hadiza Oboh became a pilot just in the 90's. Please get your facts rights before you spew trash. Every current affairs book in Nigeria agree on the fact that Chinyere is Nigeria's first female pilot. Yet, you're here talking nonsense and saying someone who was her student became a pilot before her.

dridowu: name pls, since my primary school na Mrs chinyere Kalu i dy hear so ds u own get as it b ooo

Don't mind the ignorant chap. This is why we should attend good schools.

blackmann:

People like you are very ignorant. What is wrong in a woman-pilot? Are they not human beings? So in other words if you find out mid-flight, you will jump out of the plane? You are just sexist, that's all.

There is nothing wrong with a woman being a pilot, I just prefer she is next in command to a man rather than being the one in control. Call it ignorant if you want but it's just something Im not a 100% comfortable with and if you think that's sexist, then look at the major airlines around the world, you would see a pattern.

50calibre: Another Igbo doing exploits. But to be honest, if I enter an aircraft and i find out the captain is a woman, I'm disembarking immediately. if I don't find out, then cool. Ignorance is bliss.

Indeed, ignorance is BLISS...

Whether male or female, I will enter the plane. There are lots of female pilots here, they have same flight experience and flight hours like their male counterparts, so no big deal.

50calibre:

There is nothing wrong with a woman being a pilot, I just prefer she is next in command to a man rather than being the one in control. Call it ignorant if you want but it's just something Im not a 100% comfortable with and if you think that's sexist, then look at the major airlines around the world, you would see a pattern.

What pattern, please kowashiate?

That she's the first officer of the aircraft or not doesn't mean she can't be the one flying the plane, so what are you afraid of?

You may want to read about the late Captain Hadiza Lantana Oboh here: http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/how-domestic-workers-killed-oboh-female-pilot/

Fidtad: She is not d first female pilot. D 1st was murdered by her house help 6 to 7yrs ago though she is an igbo too.

manny4life:

What pattern, please kowashiate?

That she's the first officer of the aircraft or not doesn't mean she can't be the one flying the plane, so what are you afraid of?

Yes she is the first female pilot, it's a great milestone, I applaud that.

Yes women can be as qualified as men but in times of crises and making split seconds decision, it would come down to the personal attributes of either a man or a woman.

Maybe disembarking is a bit of an exaggeration, but i would much prefer if the captain is a man, but if its a woman then fine.

churific:

It's 2013. No need for the chauvinistic attitude. A pilot is a pilot...all on equal footing with years of experience and number of flights being the only difference...gender-less

If you want logic, then 99.99999% of all the plane crashes have all been committed by men. Yet, you wouldn't hesitate to once a gain trust them with your safety.

Yes most plane crashes have men involved but statistically, there are much more male pilots that females.

So the question you should ask is - why are there more male pilots than female? There is your answer.

Akshow: Igbo kwenu! Ur daughters are representing.

?

Ndi Igbo!

50calibre:

[b]There is nothing wrong with a woman being a pilot, I just prefer she is next in command to a man rather than being the one in control. Call it ignorant if you want but it's just something Im not a 100% comfortable with and if you think that's sexist, then look at the major airlines around the world, you would see a pattern.

The whole idea about this is not too many women go into training to be a pilot. There are several successful female pilots in the world, but like they say "they are women in a man's world". Even if she's the next in command, it still boils down to the same thing - she is a pilot. Do you know that the captain doesn't really fly the plane? Most of the time he oversees what is going on in the cockpit. The Co-pilot is the one who most of the time takes off and lands the plane. The rest of the flight is normally taken over by the autopilot. So even if she is under the command of a male, she basically is the one that flies the plane while the captain monitors things.

Please have a look at these links if you have the time.[/b]


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3EuN_TbXmM

http://www.military.com/video/commercial-aviation/civil-aviation/pakistans-all-female-flight-crew/1799211345001/