Milcah Mumbe: 21-year-old pilot cruising in the skies

Many passengers are apprehensive when they learn that Milcah is flying them. But after the flight, they are left amazed by her expertise [Photo: Courtesy]

Welcome aboard ladies and gentlemen. Flying you is pilot MILCAH MUMBE, 21 years old. Believe it or not this youngling is a commercial pilot licence holder with 1,300 flying hours to her credit. PETER MUIRURI spoke to her

When my photographer and I met Milcah Mumbe at a Nairobi hotel a week ago, she oozed the girliness of a catwalk model as opposed to the serious demeanour associated with pilots.

This is the level of disbelief that greets her whenever she introduces herself as a pilot both to her peers and passengers.

Yet, at 21, Milcah is an accomplished pilot working with the Wilson Airport based Safarilink, the aviation company known for its exploits in bush landings.

The commercial pilot licence holder with 1,300 flying hours to her credit, Milcah is certainly in a class of her own, serving in an industry that is still male-dominated. Her desire to fly was conceived when she was in Class Four at Malezi School.

“In my formative years, I used to keep a collection of items that I wished to do as I grew up. Among these was the desire to become a pilot. One would have dismissed this as the usual childhood ‘when I grow up I would like to be’ kind of fantasy. I rediscovered this treasure box when I was clearing my primary education. I kept telling my dad of my wish to become a pilot,” says Milcah.

New found love

Family members were initially sceptical about her newfound love of the aviation industry. However, her father who also happens to be a pilot, urged the girl to soldier on and keep her desire in sharp focus as she concentrates on secondary education.

Her mind had already been made up way before coming out of Mutungoni Academy in Athi River in 2008 where she sat for her Form Four exams.

“I made the decision not to fill any university admission forms since I reckoned that not one of the higher institutions of learning in Kenya offered a course in aviation. It was the best decision I ever made,” she says.

In May 2009, the petite girl enrolled at the then CMC Flying School (now DAC Flying School) for a rigorous course involving a number of subjects including metrology, navigation, air rules, human factors, aircraft systems and principles of flying.

Later the same day, Milcah took a familiarisation flight with the instructor in what she terms as her first step towards conquering the skies.

“I was the only student in class on day one. My father had already spread the news of my studies to his friends, mostly in the aviation industry. I had so much to prove to them,” recalls Milcah.

Within three months, Milcah had acquired the Private Pilot’s Licence after 45 hours of flying. One hurdle off the way, another bigger one was just in the offing — becoming a certified commercial pilot. Without this, her chances of getting employed to ferry passengers in any aviation company are next to nil.

A go getter, Milcah pushed on with her studies culminating in her passing the mandatory subjects and clocking 200 flight hours after a year and three months of intense studies.

Rigorous training

“This was one of my most important accomplishments in life. I had seen some of my fellow students fall by the wayside because they could not take in the rigorous training required of one intending to become a commercial pilot. Some were in it either for the fame or because someone begged them to train in aviation. I was there for the passion,” the second born in a family of five children says.

Despite her triumph getting the needed qualifications, Milcah’s battle to et a slice of the sky had just begun. Getting employed as a pilot proved harder than she had anticipated. In the meantime, she had to keep honing her skills by using any opportunity that arose to fly.

The opportunity arose when a group of family friends requested her to fly them to the Coast for a holiday. Among them was her father.

“My first flight was the ultimate test of my skills. Half of the passengers, including my dad were pilots themselves. I had everything to prove. This was baptism by fire. Fortunately, it proved to be a smooth ride,” she says.

For months on end, Milcah kept sending in her papers to prospective employers. All she got were promises of a job and pledges of ‘we will call you when something comes up.’ Giving up was not in her vocabulary.

Her break came in 2011 when Safarilink called her in as a freelancer.  Her joy knew no bounds. Today, she is the only permanent female pilot at the company.

Milcah’s next battle has been that of winning the confidence of some passengers who, sometimes, doubt her experience in flying. Having overcome major obstacles before, she takes everything in her stride letting her skills in the air prove sceptics wrong.

Prove herself

“Being a female pilot, you always have to prove yourself more than your male colleagues. You are always on the spotlight. There have been cases where tourists have actually come up to me to ask if I can really fly the Cessna Caravans the company operates. Many are, however, amazed when they see how a young female pilot handles the plane and have come forward to thank me. I have learnt to be humble and never answer in a manner that suggests annoyance,” Milcah says.

Being a bush pilot is always a challenging assignment that requires one to be ever alert. She says that in places like the Masai Mara, there may be animals or birds on the airstrip, factors that can pose a challenge even to the most experienced pilot.

However, Milcah says the greatest challenge in flying is posed by bad weather that can appear suddenly. She recalls a time when she and a female colleague landed in the Mara as bad weather was just closing in. When the rains subsided, they decided to take off only to encounter more storms along the intended route.

“That required that we fly using the instruments since visibility was zero. Thankfully, modern planes have instruments that can pinpoint a spot where the storm is not so severe. Once we identified that spot, we were able to fly back to Wilson without any incident. At any given time, my policy is ‘never dare the weather’,” warns Milcah.