Angela Masson

Year Inducted: 2018

Angela Masson began flying at 15 at Clover Field in Santa Monica. At 21 she set a record as the youngest person to fly coast to coast in a high performance aircraft. In 1971 she trained armed forces pilot cadets at Claire Walters Flight School flying over 1,000 flight hours in under a year. She flew as a charter pilot for Express Airways out of NAS Lemoore on a Navy contract.

American Airlines President Robert Crandall hired her as a pilot for American in 1976 at age 25, where she was the first woman to fly as FO on the B-707, 67 and DC-10. In 1984 she was the first woman to be type-rated on the 747. Masson was the first female Chief Pilot for American Airlines earning type-ratings on the A310, B-747, 57, 67, 77, DC-9, 10, and MD-11.

Masson’s multiple patents include the first true Electronic Flight Bag (EKB).