Norah O'Neill (August 23, 1949 – September 22, 2017) was an American aviator who learned to fly in 1973 and became the first woman pilot for Alaska Central Air (1974)The Western Flyer 1st Issue of October, 1976 "WESTERN Flyer REPORTS / ALASKA"Chevrolet Friends magazine, January 1976; "Alaskan Bush Pilot, Norah O'Neill" and the Flying Tiger Line (1976).Flying Tigers History: "The First jet freighter pilot, Norah O'Neill" http://www.flyingtigerline.org/History/1970p4.htmUSA Today, May 25, 2005; "ANOTHER EMPTY SWIMMING POOL", Ask The Captain, FROM CAP'N MERYL http://www.fromthecockpit.com/Blogg/2005_05_01_ask-the-captain_archive.html
During her thirty-five years as an airline pilot, Norah amassed 22,000 hours and was the first woman in the world to pilot the Douglas DC-8 (1977) and to fly passengers on the Boeing 747 (August, 1980).International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISA + 21) http://www.iswap.org/
Piloting large jet transports on trans-pacific routes for Flying Tigers resulted in Norah being photographed and interviewed by Asian publicationsNon-no No. 177 February 20, 1979Chosun Hotel Magazine August, 1977 as the first woman airline pilot to land in Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong.
Mentoring and encouraging the female aviators who followed her was an important part of Norah's career. She was one of the founders of the International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISA + 21) in 1978. She served as vice president of that society for two years and as historian for twenty years. She was also a contributing member of the Women in Aviation International (WAI) and The Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots. Norah spoke at schools and institutions about women pursuing their dream careers. Norah was forced to retire from flying early due to ME/CFS she developed after a viral illness and fought a successful legal battle to qualify for disability benefits Flying Tigress (p.2005). Norah Ellen O'Neill died on September 22, 2017, at her home in Seattle of colon cancer.
Author Norah's memoir, Flying Tigress (p.2005),Flying Tigress (p.2005) gives a candid account of the many challenges she overcame to become a woman 747 pilot in the male dominated commercial pilot profession.
Norah was a contributing writer for Tiger Tales, An Anecdotal History of the Flying Tiger Line (p.2000)Tiger Tales, An Anecdotal History of the, Flying Tiger Line by LaVerne Moldrem (p.2000) and Heart of a Military Woman (p. 2009).Heart of a Military Woman by Sheryl L. Roush and Eldonna Lewis Fernandez (p. 2009)
Honoree Norah has been featured in exhibits about women in aviation at various air and space museums, including the San Diego Aerospace Museum (1994) and the "Chasing Horizons: Women in Aerospace" exhibit at the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle (2010).
In 2009, Norah was inducted into the International Forest of FriendshipInternational Forest of Friendship http://ifof.org/ for her outstanding contributions to aviation.International Forest of Friendship 2009 Honorees http://ifof.org/datafiles/2009/Honrees_2009_++IMGP8586ebt.JPG
In 2010 she was one of 100 women pioneers honored by the University of Washington Women's Center at the suffrage centennial gala,University of Washington; University Week; 100 women honored by the UW Women's Center at the suffrage centennial gala http://uwnews.org/uweek/article.aspx?j=7499505878&id=61100 "Women Unbound".University of Washington Women Unbound Gala 2010 http://womenunboundgala.wordpress.com/
Artist After retirement in 2009, Norah resided in the Pacific Northwest where she created wearable art for Tigress One Designs.
References
External links Flying Tiger Line International Forest of Friendship International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISA + 21) Women in Aviation International (WAI) The Ninety-Nines, Inc. Flying Tigress Tiger Tales, An Anecdotal History of the Flying Tiger Line (p.2000) Norah O'Neill Papers at The Museum of Flight Digital Collections San Diego Air and Space Museum Tigress One Designs Norah O'Neill's Web Page