March 19th 2023.
Justin Mutawassim, a 27-year-old African American pilot at Delta Air Lines, accomplished his childhood aspiration of becoming a pilot at the identical airline in which he had formerly been employed as a ramp agent.
From the moment he was 5, Mutawassim's interest in flying commenced on his first airplane journey and investigating the cockpit. From that point on, he continually wanted to become a pilot, he told the Washington Post.
However, the pathway toward his objective became hazy at one point. He was highly disheartened when his middle school teacher, who was in the US Air Force, erroneously informed him that perfect eyesight was a requisite for becoming a pilot. Mutawassim, who had to put on glasses, said he had no way to verify it at that time.
Therefore, following graduating high school, Mutawassim made up one's mind to pursue a career in broadcasting. He started college, secured some jobs and he was pleased with it but he said it was not as satisfying as he assumed aviation would be.
A year later, he decided to drop out of college and began working as a ramp agent loading suitcases at Delta Air Lines in 2014. His passion for aviation came back even stronger. He rapidly increased the ranks and became a supervisor and then instructor. But he did not yet find the assurance to pursue being a pilot at that time.
Mutawassim's life began to modify in 2016 when he encountered Ivor Martin, a pilot who is Black. Martin offered to mentor him when he shared about his long-held dream to become a pilot. With Martin's assistance, Mutawassim was capable of finishing his licenses in less than a year.
In 2018, he began working as a pilot for a regional airline and then a start-up airline. In 2022, he took the opportunity to apply to work as a pilot at Delta after learning that the company no longer requires a college degree for pilots. After a few months of training, he officially became a Delta pilot.
Mutawassim took to Twitter to celebrate his accomplishment. He posted a picture of him as a Delta ramp agent in 2016 and as a Delta pilot in 2022, with the caption “
This one has been 6 long years in the making.”
Mutawassim, who is based in New York City, is presently taking college courses for a degree in Aviation Science and striving for his next goal of becoming a captain. He also does volunteer work mentoring aspiring pilots, paying forward what Martin did to him.
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