Captain Irene Koki Mutungi: The Illustrious Career Of First Female Black African Pilot Of A Boeing 787 Dreamliner
Koki was born in 1976. Her father, Captain Joe Mutungi, was a commercial pilot with Kenya Airways (KQ) in the 90s.
The Assistant Chief Pilot At KQ knew she wanted to fly when she accompanied her father on a flight to London,
“I remember having flown with my father in London when I was eight years old and I was sitting with him in the cockpit the entire route. Since then, I knew that is what I wanted to do.”
The celebrated pilot studied at Moi Girls School, Nairobi and later on joined the Kenya School of Flying when she was 17 and completed at Crabtree Aviation in Oklahoma, US.
She obtained her Private Pilot's License in Kenya and the Commercial Pilot's License from the Federal Aviation Administration
Captain Koki joined KQ in 1995 as a second officer flying Fokker 50s and was the first female pilot, and the only one for six years, at the national carrier.
In 2005, she was part of the very first all-female flight crew. This was a huge milestone back in the day when flight crews in the country had to include males
“It was a huge milestone from an airline in a third world country. I was proud to have had the opportunity to command that flight,” she said of the feat.
“It was a huge milestone from an airline in a third world country. I was proud to have had the opportunity to command that flight,” she said of the feat.
Koki scored another historic first by being the first African female Boeing 787 Captain in 2014.
In 2022, Captain Koki was Inducted Into Aviators Hall Of Fame in the glamorous event held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
She also the recipient of Akwaaba – Africa Travel Award (2009 and 2014),Women4Africa Award 2014, Business Daily Top 40 under 49 Women, Winner 2017 Africa Top Travel 100 Women by the Ministry of Tourism.