Celebrating Latinas in Aviation (AFW Jul-Sep 2025)
This article was published in the July – September 2025 issue of Aviation for Women Magazine.
A common theme in our canon of stories featuring women in aviation is that of the ‘unintentional pioneer’—women who knew they wanted to pursue an aviation career, often oblivious to the barriers in their way or to who, if anyone, had gone before them. Olga Custodio’s new memoir, Flightpath of Fortitude: Breaking Barriers, Building Horizons, gives us a glimpse of what it’s like to be one of those unintentional pioneers. Her journey to become the first Latina U.S. military pilot, and one of only a few when she started at American Airlines, is truly one of fortitude.
Rather than reading like a full memoir, her book offers various brief vignettes in a conversational style from throughout her life and career. A native of Puerto Rico, Olga spent much of her childhood living abroad—her father’s service in the U.S. Army took them to Taiwan, Iran, and Paraguay. When she arrived at the University of Puerto Rico for her undergraduate education in 1969, she planned to enroll in Air Force ROTC but was denied by the commander who suggested she join the associated sorority instead. When she graduated with her bachelor’s degree, making her eligible for an Air Force commission, flying was still not an option for women.
She met her husband who enlisted in the Air Force, and they started their family. She was working as a Department of Defense civilian employee in the terminal at Howard Air Force Base when she learned the Air Force had just opened pilot opportunities to women. When her application package was suspiciously reported damaged and incomplete at headquarters, she and her husband got creative to make sure a new and untampered set of documents arrived in time for the selection process.
At 26 years old, Olga went on to complete initial flight training and served as a T-38 instructor at Laughlin and Randolph Air Force Bases. After eight years of active duty, she transitioned to the USAF Reserves and pursued a career as a pilot with American Airlines where she flew the Fokker 100 and Boeing 727, 757, and 767 aircraft. She retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel, and from American in 2008 as a Captain with 11,000 flight hours.
So many aspects of Olga’s story resonate with me. She was already a mother of several years by the time she attended flight training and went on to pursue a full aviation career with the support of her husband and children. I was the only mother I knew in military flight training almost twenty years later and had no access to mother role models for several years into my flying career. Hers is a story that would have inspired me then and inspires me now. In Flightpath of Fortitude she includes some of the mishaps and challenges she faced in her various aviation roles, but she also talks about her post-retirement life supporting aviation outreach, sharing her story to inspire others, her continuing family relationships, aircraft ownership, and her passion for dance.
A condensed version of Olga’s story appeared in the first volume of Latinas in Aviation, an anthology from women across the aviation industry published by Jaqueline S. Ruiz of Fig Factor Media. The series now includes four volumes featuring 80 inspiring stories, with a fifth launching this September.
Author Graciela Tiscareño-Sato’s story was also included in that first edition of Latinas in Aviation. Graciela served for nine years as a U.S. Air Force KC135 Tanker crewmember and senior instructor. She shares that experience in her bilingual Captain Mama picture book series: Good Night Captain Mama/Buenas Noches Capitán Mamá; Captain Mama’s Surprise/La Sopresa de Capitán Mamá; and Taking Flight with Captain Mama/Despegando de Capitán Mamá.
