As a new milestone that is written in the history of military aviation in our country, Lieutenant Colonel Andrea Silvana Díaz Bohórquez made her first flight as pilot in command of a Hercules C-130, a military transport aircraft of the Colombian Air Force that until today had been commanded only by male pilots.
For several generations, the crews of the Colombian Air Force were made up exclusively of men in command of military aircraft; it was in 1997, when women had the opportunity to demonstrate their resources as pilots and commanders of the different missions carried out by Colombian air force aircraft.
In the Air Force, 35 percent of the personnel are women, of whom 15 percent are in the flight specialty that includes helicopters and planes, as well as navigators, air defense, and remotely manned aircraft operators.
Lieutenant Colonel Andrea Díaz, is part of the third generation of female pilots of the Air Force; she entered the Marco Fidel Suárez Military Aviation School in 1999 as a member of the 75th officers course, with the dream of flying the skies and leaving the legacy of those women who have dedicated their lives to serve the country.
Today she sees his dream fulfilled, when she made his solo flight as a pilot of the Hercules C-130, a heavy military aircraft that carries out missions of personnel transport, cargo, humanitarian aid, firefighting and has the ability to land on unprepared runways, far the national geography.
The C-130 Hercules, under the command of lieutenant colonel Andrea Diaz, took off from the Air Command of Military Transport - CATAM, with destination to the city of Cali, and later to the International Airport, Camilo Daza in Cúcuta (Norte de Santander), in a flight of more than six hours in which she demonstrated the discipline and expertise acquired as a pilot through the years.
The crew of this aircraft was in the same way composed of another woman, an officer of the specialty of flight who conducts the functions of navigator, setting precedents and opening new paths for those women who dream of being part of the crews of the Colombian Air Force and its human team.
Source: press-Colombian Air Force
