Capt. Theresa Claiborne logged more than 23,000 career flight hours.
Pioneering aviator Captain Theresa M. Claiborne has retired after 43 years of flying, first as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force then as a Captain at United Airlines. She made history as the first Black woman pilot in the history of both the Air Force and United.
Claiborne was hired as the first Black woman pilot at the airline in January 1990 after seven years of active duty with the Air Force and 13 years in the Air Force Reserves. Her final landing for United Thursday at Newark, New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport marked her retirement after 34 years with the air carrier.
Claiborne has logged more than 23,000 career flight hours.
“I plan to spend my days inspiring young people to follow their dreams by turning them into goals, shattering glass…