aviation
They were part of Afghanistan’s first-ever all-female flight. Then their lives were turned upside down.
In 2021, six women — two pilots and four cabin crew — participated in Afghanistan’s first-ever all-female flight. It was a historic moment. Their photos and videos were shared all over the world. Then, a few months later, their lives were turned upside down when the Taliban toppled the Afghan government and took over the country.
A Marine pilot breaks the gender barrier in one of the world’s most elite squadrons
When the elite aerial team called the Blue Angels formed in 1946, all of its pilots were men. In 2014, the same thing was true. Now history has been made with the addition of Capt. Katie Higgins, the first female pilot to serve with the Navy’s world-famous demonstration squadron.
A US-Russian pair is trying to smash the ‘holy grail’ of ballooning records
Balloon pilots Troy Bradley and Leonid Tiukhtyaev of Russia are currently floating above the Pacific Ocean on what they hope is a record-setting flight. Now five days and more than 5,000 miles into the trip, they’re gunning for the record for longest gas balloon trip of all time.
An AirAsia jet carrying 162 people is still missing
As authorities continue to search for a missing AirAsia flight bound for Singapore, fears are growing that the aircraft is “at the bottom of the sea.” Meanwhile, AirAsia’s flamboyant chief executive, Tony Fernandes, has been thrust into the international spotlight as his company confronts its first major crisis.