According to ABC 7, the flight crew departed from Newark Airport, bound for Sarasota Bradenton International Airport in Florida.
Gabrielle Harding, one of two Black women working as line check pilots at United, was scheduled as captain of staffing flight 1215 from EWR to SRQ. Harding is the second Black woman in her position in the company’s history.
“I love everything about flying,” Harding told ABC 7. “It gives me the flexibility to be a mother as well as to be able to travel different places. I love every aspect of the job.”
Captain Harding has had many firsts throughout her aviation career. She is the only Black woman flying a commercial airline who graduated from an HBCU pilot program, per ABC 7.
She is also a member of the “Hampton 6,” a cohort of Hampton graduates who are now captains at United Airlines, where she stands out as the sole woman among them.
Accompanying Harding in the cockpit is First Officer Julia Ewalefo, who flew her first flight with United…
