F-16 fighter pilots: Breaking barriers in combat aviation

Ella Al-Shamahi speaks to two of the first generation of women to ever fly F16s, Manja Blok for the Netherlands Air Force and Heather Penney for the US Air Force.

Manja Blok was the first female operational F-16 fighter pilot in the world. After taking the aviation exam at 19, Manja was told she was unfit to become a pilot and pursued a career as a beautician instead. She tried again at 22 and in 1991, made her F-16 debut in a career that lasted a decade and paved the way for women behind her.

Heather Penney joined the US Air Force in the late nineties, after Congress lifted the combat exclusion for women in aviation in 1993. Six months after becoming qualified for combat, Heather was assigned a mission on September 11th 2001 during the attacks in New York and Washington D.C, to intercept hijacked Flight 93.

Produced by Elena Angelides

(Image: (L) Manja Blok, courtesy of Joni Isreali. (R ) Heather Penney, courtesy of Tim Engle)