CALL HER CAPTAIN

MEDIA PILOT TAKES COMMAND AT AMERICAN AIRLINES

MEDIA » It’s taken Susan Maule 35 years and millions of miles to get to where she stood Tuesday evening - a captain piloting an American Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner across the Atlantic to Amsterdam.

But first, friends and family gave Maule a send-off to remember. The steps and walkway of her Media home were decked out as a runway for the last leg of a trip she has dreamed of since childhood.

While not the first female to captain a major airline, Maule is in rare company. According to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, there are some 7,409 female airline pilots worldwide, and women account for just 5.18% of the pilots at 34 major airlines.

For Maule, it is in the blood. Her family founded an aircraft manufacturing company in 1941, building Maule aircraft which specialize in rugged single engine designs.

She took her first flight lesson at age 7, soloed a dozen aircraft on her 16th birthday, and got her pilot certificate on her

17th birthday, all in family aircraft.

She worked as a flight instructor for a year after getting her flight rating and in

1986, got hired at Piedmont Airlines. Subsequent mergers brought her to American Airlines.

“My advice has always been, if you love it, you’ll find a way to make it happen. That’s how it worked for me,” Maule said.

In addition to captaining the flight, this is also the first time Maule has been at work since March and the pandemic brought most airlines to a standstill.

She has been training on simulators for the flight. Then came international training and now she will fly with an instructor on her first flight.

“I brought a pin to wear on my uniform of our families’ plane. The anniversary of my dad’s death is during this flight,” Maule said. “He (Ray Maule) was my main flight instructor and my Grandpa designed the airplane.”

Maule said she would be thinking of them as she flew across the Atlantic.

With that, she loaded her bag into her car to head to the airport.

“How about a cheer for Susan! Hip hip horray! With you all the way!” cried neighbor Michael Madden. “She’s an excellent neighbor when she isn’t buzzing the neighborhood in a 787.”

PETE BANNAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP Susan Maule heads out from her Media home Tuesday evening on her on first day as captain for American Airlines. She was commanding a 787 flight to Amsterdam. Friends greeted her and decorated her walk like a runway.

PETE BANNAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP Michael Madden presents Captain Susan Maule with a model of a Boeing 787 as she headed out to work on her on first day as captain for American Airlines. Her flight was captaining a 787 to Amsterdam.

PETE BANNAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP Susan Maule leaves her home on the way to work on her on first day as captain for American Airlines. She was captaining a 787 to Amsterdam.

PETE BANNAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP Susan Maule talks with some of the neighbors who greeted her.