Airline Captain The pilot in command (PIC) of an aircraft is the person aboard the aircraft who is ultimately responsible for its operation and safety during flight. This would be the captain in a typical two- or three-pilot aircrew, or "pilot" if there is only ...

Irene Koki Mutungi, commonly known as Koki Mutungi, is a professional pilot in Kenya, the largest economy in the

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Burundi, ...

. She was the first female on the African continent to become certified as a Captain of the

Boeing 787 The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, ...

"Dreamliner" aircraft. She flies for

Kenya Airways Kenya Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Kenya Airways, is the flag carrier airline of Kenya. The company was founded in 1977, after the dissolution of East African Airways. Its head office is located in Embakasi, Nairobi, with its hub at Jo ...

, the national airline of Kenya.

Early life and education

She was born in 1976 to Kenyan parents. Her father was a commercial pilot with

. She has since retired and is an aviation consultant. Koki attended Moi Girls School Nairobi. After graduating high school in 1992, at the age of 17 years, she enrolled in flight school at Nairobi's

Wilson Airport Wilson Airport is an airport in Nairobi, Kenya. It has flights to many regional airports in Kenya while Nairobi's main airport, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, serves domestic and many international destinations. Location Wilson Airport ...

, where she obtained her

Private Pilot's License A private pilot licence (PPL) or, in the United States, a private pilot certificate, is a type of pilot licence that allows the holder to act as pilot in command of an aircraft privately (not for remuneration). The licence requirements are dete ...

. She continued her pilot education in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

in the United States where she was awarded the Commercial Pilot's License, by the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

Career

She returned to Kenya in 1995 and was hired by Kenya Airways, as their first female pilot. She was the only female pilot at the airline for the next six years. In 2004, she became the first African woman to qualify to captain a commercial aircraft, when she qualified to command the

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...

. She has since qualified to command the

Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...

. She then took the conversion course which allowed her to transition to commanding a

Dreamliner. Kenya Airways then promoted her to Captain of the B787, making her the first African female Boeing 787 Captain in the world. Her employer made that announcement on 15 April 2014.

Other considerations

Her motivation to become a commercial pilot was developed when she was five years old, by observing her father, a pilot for Kenya Airways at that time. Captain Mutungi, who is the mother of one son born circa 2006, enjoys flying and mentoring others, especially female pilots. In September 2014, Mutungi was one of 39 pilots at Kenya Airways, out of a total of 530 and she was the designated Captain on the Nairobi to Paris route on the B787. In December 2014, she was named among "The 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa 2014", by

Forbes Magazine ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also repo ...

References

External links

Website of Kenya Airways

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutungi, Irene 1976 births Living people Women aviators Kamba people People from Nairobi Kenyan aviators Commercial aviators Women commercial aviators

Early life and education

Career

Other considerations

See also

References

External links