Delta Flies 120 Girls To NASA With All Female Crew To Inspire Female Aviators

October 10, 2019

To help close the gender gap in aviation, Delta continued its annual WING flight on Sunday by flying 120 girls ages 12 to 18 from Salt Lake City to NASA in Houston.

Credit: Delta

"From nose to tail, the flight was planned and orchestrated exclusively by women – including the pilots flying the plane, ramp agents working on the ground, gate agents boarding the flight and women in the tower guiding the aircraft on its way out," Delta said in a statement.

Delta's WING (Women Inspiring our Next Generation) Flight originated in 2015 as an effort to diversify a male-dominated industry and expose girls to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers at a young age.

This year's anniversary makes over 600 female students who have taken to the skies with Delta through the program.

On the ground in Houston, the girls experienced the worlds of flight and human space exploration. They toured NASA's Mission Control Center, Building 9, Johnson Space Center and Space Center Houston.

Throughout the trip, students got to know mentors from other male-dominated aviation workgroups, including a female technician from Delta's Technical Operations team. They also had lunch with Jeanette Epps, NASA astronaut and aerospace engineer.

"I never would have thought I would have had this experience. I'm really grateful for my parents who have made this possible and inspired my love of aviation," said 16-year-old Karyanna H., an 11th grader at Jordan Technical Institute. "It's such an exciting time to be in STEM. There's so much left for us to discover."