At 62, Carole Hopson’s work as a Boeing 737 captain for United Airlines is paired with an effort to make aviation more accessible to the next generation. She flies out of Newark and is believed to be among the eldest Black female aviators in the tri-state area.
Hopson earned her ATP certificate at age 50, according to The Washington Post, capping a path that began long before she ever boarded a commercial flight deck. She joined United at age 54 in 2018, according to Columbia Magazine, and later became a captain based in Newark, New Jersey, per the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals.
Hopson’s experience before aviation included reporting and corporate communications. Columbia Magazine notes she worked as a police reporter in New Jersey before moving into public relations, including roles at the NFL and Foot Locker. The New York Post reports she also worked at L’Oréal, left six-figure executive salaries, and graduated from Columbia University.
A Long Runway to the Cockpit
Getting there wasn't cheap or quick. Civilian pilot training costs about $150,000, Hopson has said, according to Columbia Magazine's reporting. The New York Post reports she saved money for training expected to run roughly that amount, and that she first flew a Piper Archer in 1992 at age 28.
Hopson’s flight training stretched across years as she raised her two sons, now 23 and 21, the Post reports. She earned her flight instructor certificate in June 2001 and instructed at Essex County and Morristown airports; the September 11 attacks delayed her plans by 14 years, according to the Post. She later flew for ExpressJet Airlines in her early 50s and earned FAA endorsements for high-altitude and complex-airplane operations before joining United.
Writing Bessie Coleman's Legacy Forward
Hopson has also written a novel inspired by aviation pioneer Bessie Coleman, the first African American and Native American woman to earn a pilot's license, according to NPR. The book, titled “A Pair of Wings,” grew out of that same inspiration, per the Post's reporting.
Hopson has set a goal of enrolling 100 Black women in flight school by 2035, according to Columbia Magazine. The New York Post reports she launched the Jet Black Foundation to support that effort. Its programs include drone-building and flying, robotics, airspace and aerospace; Hopson is mentoring 15 female students in grades 8 through 11 and hopes to help them enroll in colleges with strong flight programs.
Numbers Still Stacked Against Women in the Cockpit
The scale of the gap Hopson is trying to close shows up across multiple data sources, though the figures vary by population and date. Women pilots represent 6% of the total pilot population, according to Women in Aviation International, citing FAA data as of December 2024. Separately, AVweb reported women made up 6.8% of 490,470 certificated U.S. pilots and just 5.2% of active airline transport pilots in its figures. That outlet also noted the FAA issued 69,503 new student pilot certificates in 2023, up 13,334 from the prior year, with at least 7,102 of those going to women compared with 5,566 in 2022.
Hopson has cited her own FAA-sourced figure, saying fewer than 1% of commercial pilots are Black women, per Columbia Magazine. The Post reports a related statistic that Black women make up 1.6% of female aircraft pilots and flight engineers, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and that Hopson is one of roughly 5.7% of female pilots holding airline transport pilot certificates, according to the FAA. A 2021 report from NJ.com found United's own pilot ranks were 7% women and 13% people of color at that time, as the airline launched its Aviate Academy with a goal of training 5,000 pilots by 2030 and a commitment that women and people of color would make up at least half of those recruited. NJ.com reported that program cost roughly $100,000 annually, with United and J.P. Morgan committing $1.2 million a year in scholarships.
Reading the Numbers—and Finding Training Routes
The pilot percentages above describe different populations, so they should not be treated as interchangeable. The FAA defines an “active airman” as someone holding both an airmen certificate and a valid medical certificate; its civil-airmen statistics are based on certification records, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The cited figures also distinguish among all pilots, certificated pilots, active airline transport pilots, and the broader occupational category of aircraft pilots and flight engineers. Training routes can bring practical costs beyond tuition. United Aviate Academy says applicants must be accepted before applying for a partner-group scholarship, and students must relocate within commuting distance of its Goodyear, Arizona, campus. For younger students in New Jersey, Teen Aviation of New Jersey has an aircraft-build program.
A Career With a Ticking Clock
Hopson's time in the captain's seat is not unlimited. FAA regulations bar pilots from serving in Part 121 airline operations after their 65th birthday, according to the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, which the Post notes means Hopson will need to retire in three years. She lives in northern New Jersey and, according to the Post's reporting, met her husband Michael, who surprised her with flight-school gift certificates during their second date at his Manhattan apartment; the two married in 1996.
Looking back on the path that took her from a newsroom to a flight deck, Hopson has said she believes women can have it all, just not necessarily at the same time, per the Post. She has also said she is proud of the woman she has become.
