An 18-year-old African-American woman from Jamaica, New York, Ariel Messam, has recently become the youngest woman of colour to be a Certified Private Pilot in her state.
Ariel attended and graduated from Aviation Career & Technical Education High School in Queens, New York, from 2018–2022. She earned both her high school diploma and her certification as an Aircraft Powerplant Technician, all while playing varsity basketball.
In 2022, she began working as a Flight Simulation Instructor at Level Up and Take Off, a New York City-based 501(c)3 organization created by her brother, Anthony Messam, that promotes diversity, inclusion, and equitability in aviation, real estate, and financial management. This program provides inner-city youth with opportunities to gain practical hands-on experience within each industry.
She primarily flies out of Republic Airport in Farmingdale, New York, and recently announced on a Facebook post that she had finally achieved her goal of becoming the youngest Black woman to be a Certified Private Pilot in the state of New York.
