American Airlines has introduced the passing of Capt. David E. Harris. In 1964, Harris grew to become the primary Black pilot of a industrial airline when American employed him.

American Airlines

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American Airlines

American Airlines has introduced the passing of Capt. David E. Harris. In 1964, Harris grew to become the primary Black pilot of a industrial airline when American employed him.

American Airlines

In 1964, David Harris broke the colour barrier in industrial aviation when he was employed by American Airlines. Harris joined the corporate after serving as a captain within the U.S. Air Force flying B-52 bombers.

“It’s the greatest job in the world. I flew and flew and flew and was ready to fly more in my life,” Harris informed NPR in 2022. “I would have done it another 30 years had I not grown old.”

Harris died on March eighth in Marietta, Georgia. He was 89. His dying was introduced by American Airlines.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Capt. David E. Harris, a trailblazer in aviation,” wrote American Airlines CEO Robert Isom in a statement, “Capt. Harris opened the doors and inspired countless Black pilots to pursue their dreams to fly.”

Harris first bought hooked on airplanes as a child rising up in Columbus, Ohio. He and his brother would go to Lockbourne Air Force Base the place the adorned Tuskegee Airmen had been stationed after World War II.

“My brother and I would run around the base and enjoy the facility and never paid any attention to the fact that all the people on the base were Black,” Harris remembered.

“It’s the greatest job in the world. I flew and flew and flew and was ready to fly more in my life,” Harris informed NPR in 2022, “I would have done it another 30 years had I not grown old.”

National Geographic

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National Geographic

His life was the topic of the middle-grade guide, Segregated Skies: David Harris’s Trailblazing Journey to Rise Above Racial Barriers by Michael Cottman.

After six and a half years within the army, Harris utilized to be a pilot at a number of industrial airways. Cottman informed NPR that solely American responded. “He’d been rejected by some airlines. Other airlines just didn’t get back to him. I think there was one airline that didn’t even take his application. So, by the time he got to American Airlines, I think this was about it,” Cottman defined.

As a light-skinned African American with inexperienced eyes, Harris was usually mistaken for white. Cottman stated that throughout the American Airlines interview, Harris went out of his approach to set the report straight. “He stopped them and just said, ‘Hey, look, I just want you to know, before we proceed, that I’m Black,'” Cottman defined, “Because he is so proud of his heritage that he didn’t want to pass as white.”

Once Harris was established with American Airlines, he began mentoring younger African Americans — women and men — who had been all for flying. “Reaching back and helping others to succeed, that’s what I’d like for my legacy to be,” says Harris.

This story was edited by Rose Friedman.