Emily Howell Warner | |
|---|---|
 Warner,c. early 1970s | |
| Born | Emily Joyce Hanrahan[1] (1939-10-30)October 30, 1939 |
| Died | July 3, 2020(2020-07-03) (aged 80) Littleton, Colorado, U.S. |
| Known for | First U.S. woman airline captain |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
Emily Joyce Howell Warner (née Hanrahan; October 30, 1939 – July 3, 2020) was an American airlinepilot and the first womancaptain of a scheduled U.S.airline.[2]
In 1973, Warner was the first woman pilot to be hired by a scheduled U.S. airline sinceHelen Richey was hired as a co-pilot in 1934.[3][4] In 1976 Warner was the first woman to become a U.S.airline captain.[5][6]Her career has been recognized by multiple halls of fame, including theNational Aviation Hall of Fame andNational Women’s Hall of Fame.[7][8] Her pilot’s uniform is on display at theSmithsonian'sNational Air and Space Museum.[9]
In addition to piloting, Warner was aflight school manager inDenver,Colorado. She was aflight instructor andFAA designated flight examiner holding multiple ratings.[2] She flew more than 21,000 flight hours and performed more than 3,000 check rides and evaluations over her career.[2][10] Warner died in 2020 from complications of a fall andAlzheimer's disease.[1][11]
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.[12] Warner was interested in airplanes as a child.[13] After graduating high school she looked into becoming aflight attendant.[9]
At seventeen, she decided on a career in piloting after her first trip on an airplane.[5][14] 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?’”[12][15]She started flying in 1958, after getting the approval of her parents for lessons.[5][12] The lessons cost thirteen dollars per week; at that time she had a thirty-eight dollar per week paycheck.[5] 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.[5]
She took a job as a receptionist for Clinton Aviation Company inDenver, Colorado to pay for her instruction.[9] She worked there as aflight instructor after obtaining additional certificates as a commercial pilot and flight instructor, and instrument and multiengine ratings.[12] 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.[9]
From 1945 to 1968, Clinton Aviation Company operated atStapleton Airport and was the first company in the US to sellCessna airplanes. It was founded by Lou Clinton and Grant Robertson.[16] Warner initially flew for Clinton Aviation as a first officer onConvair 580s andde Havilland Twin Otters.[5] 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.[17] She was later promoted to flight school manager and chief pilot.[5][18] She became the first woman to be appointed a designatedFAA Pilot Examiner.[12]
In 1968, she began applying for a position atFrontier Airlines as well asContinental Airlines andUnited Airlines.[7] Lou Clinton wrote letters recommending her.[16] She would renew her applications multiple times over a five-year period.[5] In late 1972, a fellow flight instructor said he was hired by Frontier Airlines, strengthening Warner's resolve.[13] At this point, Warner had been active in the aviation industry for more than twelve years. She had accrued more than 3,500 flight hours as a pilot[12] and 7,000 hours as a flight instructor.[7] Students she had trained were being hired with 1,500 to 2,000 hours of flying time.[5][7] A friend who worked with Frontier introduced her to the vice president of flight operations there[9] and Warner persisted in canvassing Frontier for a position.[13]
On January 29, 1973,Frontier Airlines hired her.[5][13] It was fifteen years after her first plane flight.[12]This marked an opening for American women in one of the last sex-segregated occupations in the civilian aviation industry.[4] 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.[7]
On February 6, 1973, Howell Warner served for the first time assecond officer on a Frontier AirlinesBoeing 737.[12] The flight departed from Denver'sStapleton Airport for Las Vegas.[7][12] Within six months, she was promoted tofirst officer.[7] In 1974, she became the first woman member of theAir Line Pilots Association (ALPA).[5]
Three years later she became the first woman to earn her captain's wings. In 1976, she became the first woman USairline captain, flying a Twin Otter.[5][14][18]
Howell Warner continued to fly with Frontier until 1986.[9] Warner stayed on whenPeople Express purchased Frontier and then itself was purchased byContinental Airlines.[13] After a short time flying forContinental Airlines, she left to become captain of aBoeing 727 forUPS Airlines.[5][9] She also flew aDC-8 for United Parcel Service.[18] In 1986, she commanded an all-female flight crew.[7][8]
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In 1990, she left UPS Airlines to become aFederal Aviation Administration examiner.[5] She was the FAA Aircrew Program Manager, assigned toUnited Airlines' Boeing 737 Fleet.[9][14]
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