Earning her wings: FedEx hires first African-American woman pilot

Tahirah Lamont Brown, a prior FedEx Airbus captain and line check airman, has been hired as the first African-American woman pilot for FedEx.

Brown's first time in the cockpit was in 1992 - a momentous occasion for any pilot, but especially for an African-American woman entering an industry dominated by men.

She said her interest in piloting started when she was in high school.

Knowing her journey ahead would be long and expensive, Brown worked two jobs to pay for college and for flight training. She also reached out to friends and family saying that if they helped her now, she would pay them back later.

And her hard worked paid off. In September 2017, she became a line check airman for FedEx.

For those wishing to fly, especially young girls, Brown said getting there is hard work but it's worth it.

"You have to make sacrifices, and the road is going to be hard," she said in a FedEx blog. "I let them know that I am here to support them, to give them advice and to listen to them because that was important to me. But, they will have to find it within themselves to know that it is achievable."

Read more about Brown's career on FedEx's blog.