Asnakech Abera

Ethiopia's first female pilot who broke gender barriers in aviation during the 1950s

Asnakech Abera (1930-2010) shattered Ethiopia's aviation gender barriers when she became the country's first female pilot in 1955. Born in Addis Ababa to a family of traditional musicians, she secretly learned to fly while working as a radio announcer for Emperor Haile Selassie's state broadcaster.

Her historic solo flight from Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa in 1956 made international headlines and inspired a generation of African women. She later became East Africa's first female aircraft mechanic, maintaining planes for the Ethiopian Air Force during the 1960s. Her technical manual Aircraft Maintenance for African Conditions (1968) remains a reference text for aviation engineers in developing countries.

Abera pioneered air ambulance services in Ethiopia's remote regions, establishing the first aerial medical evacuation system in 1962. Her 1970 documentary Wings Over Abyssinia (archived at Library of Congress) provides rare footage of pre-modern Ethiopia from the air.

She trained over 200 African aviation professionals through her Flying Eagles Academy, which operated from 1965-1980. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) honored her in 1985 with the first-ever Gender Equity Award. Her legacy is preserved at the Ethiopian Aviation Heritage Museum where her original flight logbooks are displayed.

Abera's advocacy for women in STEM fields led to Ethiopia's 1973 law requiring equal admission standards for aviation schools. Modern Ethiopian Airlines still features her name on their training aircraft, a testament to her enduring impact on African aviation.