Edibe Subaşı (also known as Edibe Kutucuoğlu, 1920 – 7 May 2011) was a Turkish aviator. Subaşı was born in

Erzincan Erzincan (; ), historically Yerznka (), is the capital of Erzincan Province in eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is majority Turkish Sunni w ...

, and her family moved to

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

when she was three years old. In 1937, the

Turkish Aeronautical Association Turkish Aeronautical Association () is a non-profit organization with an aim of increasing public awareness and participation in aviation related activities and the national body governing air sports in Turkey. The association was founded with ...

(THK) was established by

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

. 36 women applied for training as aviator. Subaşı lied about her age, adding two years to her actual age, and was accepted to the training at

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...

. She and four other women, including

Sabiha Gökçen Sabiha Gökçen (; 22 March 1913 – 22 March 2001) was a Turkish aviator. During her flight career, she flew around 8,000 hours and participated in 32 different military operations. She became the world's first female fighter pilot, at age 23. ...

and Yıldız Eruçman, became Turkey's first women pilots. Subaşı trained as an aerobatics pilot and as a parachutist, and later became a gliding and light aircraft flight instructor at the THK. She performed at

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...

shows in the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, France and Italy. In 1957, Subaşı had a flying accident and retired. She died in a nursing home in

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

in 2011.

References

1920s births People from Erzincan Turkish women aviators Flight instructors Aerobatic pilots 2011 deaths {{Authority control