Captain Beverly Lynn Burns is the first woman to captain the

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...

jumbo jet. On the afternoon of July 18, 1984, Burns made her maiden voyage as a captain when she commanded

People Express People Express Airlines, stylized as PEOPLExpress, was a low-cost U.S. airline that operated from 1981 to 1987, when it was merged into Continental Airlines. The airline's headquarters was in the North Terminal (later Terminal C) of Newark L ...

aircraft 604 from Newark International Airport to

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

. By the time she retired, in February 2008, Burns had been a captain with the airlines for twenty-seven years and amassed over twenty-five thousand hours of flight time. While with People Express she captained the

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

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 ...

and

. Between 1987, when the company merged with Continental Airlines, and 2000, she added the

DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...

, DC-10,

Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978. The prototype completed its mai ...

and

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 ...

to the list of jetliners she had captained. Then, in May 2001, Burns became captain on one of the most technologically sophisticated airliners of its time, the Boeing 777. In addition to her qualifications on the flight deck, Burns had acquired an understanding of the airlines as a business. From 1971 to 1978, she worked as a stewardess for

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

while attending flight school. In 1978, she held positions as a flight instructor and charter pilot for Hinson Airways. The following year, she flew as captain for

Allegheny Commuter Allegheny, Alleghany or Allegany may refer to: Places Geologic and geographic features * Allegheny River, in Pennsylvania and New York * Allegheny Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountain Range in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Vir ...

until 1981, when she went to work for People Express. While with People Express, Burns had a number of non-traditional duties. She worked in reservations; in scheduling; and as a gate agent, baggage handler, and avionics trainer. Varying the duties of pilots — an operating approach novel to the industry in the early 1980s — required the company's CEO to obtain special FAA authorization, an action that facilitated a number of firsts in the industry. For Burns it meant becoming the first woman to ever work as a certified aircraft

dispatcher A dispatcher is a communications worker who receives and transmits information to coordinate operations of other personnel and vehicles carrying out a service. A number of organizations, including police and fire departments, emergency medical s ...

while performing duties as a line captain. Beverly_Burns

Captain Burns received numerous awards and commendations. On January 31, 1985, she received the Amelia Earhart Award — presented by New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean and the CEO of People Express, Donald Burr — for her historic flight as captain of the Boeing 747 on July 18, 1984. Prior to that award, on August 14, 1984, she received an Award of Recognition from Baltimore Mayor

William Donald Schaefer William Donald Schaefer (November 2, 1921 – April 18, 2011) was an American politician who served in public office for 50 years at both the state and local level in Maryland. As a Democrat, he was the 45th mayor of Baltimore from December 1 ...

, which cited her as one of Baltimore's best. On August 16, she received a letter of congratulation from New Jersey Senator C. Louis Bassano, who prepared a resolution in her honor. On August 21, U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey credited her with "opening doors for millions of American women" and read her deeds into the Congressional Record. On October 17, Maryland Governor Harry Hughes sent a letter of congratulation and named her an "ambassador of goodwill" for the state. On November 16, she received a letter of congratulation from President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and was invited to the 50th American President Inaugural. More recent commendations included a 2001 citation from U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and a letter of congratulation, dated August 7, 2001, from President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. On February 6, 2002, a proclamation by Baltimore Mayor

Martin O'Malley Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as the 61st Governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was Mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007. O'Malley ...

designated the date as Beverly Burns Day in Baltimore. In 2003, she received a Certificate of Appreciation from USAF General John W. Handy for outstanding support for Operation Iraqi Freedom while serving as a member of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet. Captain Burns' autobiography can be found on Kindle Books at Amazon.com.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Beverly Lynn 1949 births Aviators from Maryland Dispatchers Women aviators Living people People from Baltimore Continental Airlines people