First All-Women Flight Crew Flies Straight Into Heart Of Hurricane Dorian
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The scream of jet engines signals the return of yet another successful Hurricane Hunter mission to the NOAA Air Operations Center in Lakeland.
The crew is gathering vital information in, over and all around Hurricane Dorian as the storm moves ever closer to Florida.
"We fly fast, we fly high, so we can cover a lot of area," said Commander Rebecca Waddington.
But on this flight, something you don't normally see, is an all-female flight crew exiting the cockpit.
It's a first in the program's history flying into an Atlantic Hurricane.
"That means there are more women getting interested in flying and it's also fun to have that camaraderie because to be honest it's been a male-dominated field," said Capt. Kristie Twining.
"There's a little bit of people think you're a little bit nuts," said Lt. Lindsey Norma. "Then when you tell him this is why we're going out and doing this, going out and collecting all of this really important data, then people are usually really grateful for what you're doing."
It's opportunities like this one that the crew hopes will inspire future female pilots.
"To let them know this is something that is certainly a possibility for them and they don't have to feel intimidated or in any way think that they cannot do it," said Twining.