Pilot, 22, effortlessly shuts down men who 'wouldn't trust her to fly a plane'

A 22-year-old woman has revealed what it's like to work as a pilot in the male dominated industry.

Sabrina Johnson (@sabrinaleej) has nine years of flight experience as she began flying at the age of 14, when her dad organised a discovery flight for her to get hands-on experience with flying an aircraft.

"I always tell him that was the biggest mistake because that sent me down the rabbit hole of where I am now," Johnson told Insider."I couldn't stop."

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Now a pilot of a major airline, Johnson often documents her travel journeys on TikTok, as well as sharing what the job role is like, along with advice to aspiring pilots too.

One person wrote: "I love showing my daughter your videos because no one talks about this career for females."

"Good for you for having the ability to have this stable career at such a young age," another person said.

Someone else added: "You’re 22 and a commercial airline pilot? That's amazing!!!"

However, as a young woman pilot, Johnson has also received criticism as well as sexist comments.

In one video that now has 2.6m views, she noted how a gate agent asked if she was a flight attendant and added that this comment is a "common occurrence."

But that's not all as Johnson has also received comments from people who say she's "not really flying the plane," to which the young pilot has the perfect response.

"They say 'I wouldn't trust you to fly a plane' all the time," Johnson told the same publication. "And I'm like, Hey, I wouldn't trust you to be on my plane."

Statistically, Johnson's is in a rare position since just5.18 per cent of commercial pilots are women globally, according to the Air Line Pilots Association International trade union.

Therefore it is important to her that she is making content to cater to women and young girls who have the same aspirations as her to become a pilot which Johnson describes as "the coolest thing."

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.