Trailblazers: Sarah Tindell

SBJ photo by Wes Hamilton

6%
Percentage of female pilots
 
Source: Women in Aviation International

When Sarah Tindell flies, she leaves “everything that’s on the ground, on the ground.”

That sense of freedom, combined with an early mentor, is driving her upward trajectory in the aviation industry.

She points to the 2015 death of her neighbor – who was a corporate pilot for hotelier John Q. Hammons – as the reason she set out in the industry. Now rocking her pilot’s license, Tindell flies three days a week while taking classes at Ozarks Technical Community College in hopes of becoming an air traffic control specialist.

“I was the first female student coming into it, but that didn’t intimidate me,” she says.

On the ground, she helps lead flight operations for Premier Flight Center LLC.