CHINYERE KALU, THE FIRST WOMAN TO FLY AN AIRCRAFT IN NIGERIA 

Did you know that Chinyere Kalu obtained her license as a commercial female pilot in Nigeria on 20 May 1981 after several aviation and transport courses in the UK and the US?

Chinyere Kalu, MFR (née Onyenucheya), who served as the rector and chief instructor of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology between October 2011 and February 2014, holds the aviation record as the first Nigerian female commercial pilot and the first woman to fly an aircraft in Nigeria.

Chinyere is a native of Akwete, Ukwa East Local Government Area in Abia State, Eastern Nigeria. She grew up under the care of her mother after the separation of her parents. She decided to begin her career in aviation because of her adventurous aunt, well known for overseas travelling. 

Academically, she had her primary school education at Anglican Girls Grammar School, Yaba, Lagos State, before she trained as a private and commercial pilot in 1978 at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria under SP.12 Batch.

She subsequently took several aviation and transport courses in the United Kingdom and the United States before she received her license as a commercial pilot on 20 May 1981, from the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology.

When asked in an interview by The Punch on October 2020 on what led to her decision to be a pilot, she said: "That was in 1974 when we were asked to write an essay on the career we wanted to pursue. I had initially thought of being an air hostess but because of how they are exposed to men, I felt it wouldn’t be for me because of my faith as a Christian. That was when I thought of becoming a pilot."

Also, in an earlier interview by Vanguard in December 2012, relaying her first solo flight experience she said: "One of the memorable moments of my life in flying was when I went on my first solo. First solo is the first time a student pilot will take off with an aircraft and land all by himself or herself, without the instructions and the presence of a flight instructor. That I did, I think on the 6th of June, 1978. I can remember it clearly."

In October 2011, President Goodluck Jonathan appointed her the rector and chief instructor of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology. In February 2014, she was succeeded by Captain Samuel Caulcrick.

Chinyere is a member of the Nigerian Women Achievers Hall of Fame and also a member of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which was conferred upon her in 2006.

Other awards on her include the African International Achievers Merit Award 2007; the Rare Gems Professional Achievements Award 2007; and Nigeria's 50 Greatest Women of Democratic Administration of Ghana 2012.

Source:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinyere_Kalu