Melissa Haney (born 1981) is an

Inuk Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and ...

pilot from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. She is noted for being the first female Inuk pilot with

Air Inuit Air Inuit ( Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᖃᖓᑦᑕᔪᖏᑦ) is an airline based in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada. It operates domestic passenger services and charter and cargo services in Nunavik, Labrador a ...

to reach the rank of captain. In 2017, the Canadian

Ninety-Nines The Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots, also known as The 99s, is an international organization that provides networking, mentoring, and flight scholarship opportunities to recreational and professional female pilots. Foun ...

released a postage stamp in commemoration of her achievements.

Early life

Haney was born in 1981. She spent her early years in the community of

Inukjuak Inukjuak ( iu, ᐃᓄᒃᔪᐊᒃ, ''Inujjuaq'' or ''Inukjuaq'' in Latin script, meaning 'The Giant') is a northern village (Inuit community) located on Hudson Bay at the mouth of the Innuksuak River in Nunavik, in the region of northern Queb ...

on the shores of

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

, and as a child, Haney loved going to visit the airport. Planes were an ordinary form of transportation in Haney's community, necessary for travelling to dental and medical appointments in other communities. When she was eight, Haney moved south to

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (french: Cantons de l'Est) is an historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby in the southwest, to Drummondv ...

with her mother, who was a teacher. Haney grew up in Eastern Townships, and finished a year of university at John Abbott College in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. When she was 19, she heard that

was looking for new employees. Haney decided it sounded interesting and would provide a chance to get closer to her northern childhood community again.

Career

In 2001, Haney began working with Air Inuit as a

flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...

. She soon decided she wanted to fly planes herself. In 2003, Haney took flight lessons in

Cornwall, Ontario Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, situated where the provinces of Central Canada, Ontario and Quebec and the state of New York (state), New York converge. It is the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Unit ...

. The following year, she completed

ground school Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...

courses with Air Inuit. One of Haney's mentors has been aviator

Johnny May Johnny May (born 1945) is a Canadian Inuit, Inuk bush pilot living in Kuujjuaq, known as being the first Inuk pilot in eastern Canada. He is credited with saving the lives of many Inuit in search-and-rescue missions and operating medevac airpla ...

, the first Inuk

bush pilot Bush flying refers to aircraft operations carried out in the bush. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormally ...

Nunavik Nunavik (; ; iu, ᓄᓇᕕᒃ) comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homeland of the I ...

. In 2004, Haney began flying

Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

aircraft for Air Inuit. Air Inuit (10111289846)

In the summer of 2016, Haney was promoted to captain. When she flew back to Inukjuak in September, several hundred people from her community gathered to meet her at the airport. She now regularly flies a Dash 8 Combi-300, making tight landings on runways that are often just barely long enough for her aircraft. On August 15, 2017, the Canadian

released a commemorative postage stamp featuring Haney. Speaking to reporters, the president of Air Inuit said that Haney "was a role model for all people in Nunavik, whether they're women, whether they're men."

Personal life

Haney is married to another Air Inuit captain named Pierre-Olivier, and the couple has two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haney, Melissa 1981 births Canadian Inuit women Living people Inuit from Quebec Canadian women commercial aviators