A North Carolina teenager is the youngest African American to earn his private aviation license in the state. WSOCTV reports Ryan Garner is the youngest in the city of Concord to secure his certification at age 17.

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North Carolina Teen Is The Youngest Person To Earn His Private Aviation License

The 17-year-old is now certified to fly solo. He got his license from Goose Creek Airport, a small airport in Indian Trail. Initially, Ryan was interested in being a ground crew member. However, after speaking to a Delta pilot, he changed his mind and set his sights on flight school.

Garner stuck to his goal and became a pilot before his 18th birthday hit. The City of Concord honored the young airman last week. Mayor Dusch presented him with a proclamation honoring his achievement.

So, at some point in the future, when you hear, ‘This is your captain speaking,’ it just might be Ryan’s voice!

The Tea On Black Pilots In America

The Chicago Sun-Times reports only 3.4% of U.S. pilots are Black. White men account for more than 90% of pilots. Asians sit at 2.2%, and Hispanics come in at 0.5%.

The imbalance reportedly began after World War II ended. Airlines enlisted the 200,000 military-trained pilots who returned from battle. During that time, Black people were limited in their professional pursuits due to segregation.

African Americans could fight in the war, but they were not allowed to fly aircraft. However, the U.S. desperately needed pilots during the war, so it created the Civilian Pilot Training Program in 1939. This program allowed Black Americans to learn how to fight in combat planes in case war came creeping up again.

On January 16, 1941, Secretary of the Army Henry L. Stimson greenlit the development of a Black pursuit squadron. This eventually led to the formation of the Tuskegee Airmen. Over 16,000 Black men trained in Alabama, and 996 of them were pilots. Over 350 of the airmen were deployed and saw battle. They flew over 15,000 individual missions and took down 112 enemy airplanes during the Second World War.

The Tuskegee Airmen are credited with helping the U.S. win World War II in August of 1945. Although the road wasn’t even for many, Garner is following a great legacy of airmen.

Congrats to Ryan Garner! We see you fly boy!

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