Mother-daughter pilot duo delight passengers during recent Delta flight

Capt. Wendy Rexon and her daughter, First Officer Kelly Rexon.
(Image credit: Embry-Riddle/Dr. John R. Watret)

Capt. Wendy Rexon and her daughter, First Officer Kelly Rexon, are having a great time flying the friendly skies together.

Upon boarding a recent Delta flight from Los Angeles to Atlanta, Dr. John R. Watret, the chancellor of Embry-Riddle Worldwide Aeronautical University, learned that the plane's pilot and first officer were a mother and daughter team. Watret was thrilled, as he feels there "has to be more diversification in the industry," he said in a news release. "It's crucial and one of the key factors we focus on. When there are more opportunities, everyone wins." Watret and a few other passengers chatted with the Rexons before the plane took off, and he found out that flying runs in the family: Kelly's sister is a pilot, too.

As of 2017, just 7 percent of Federal Aviation Administration certified pilots were women, and Watret said the industry will grow stronger as more women join the workforce. "The first officer had a great role model for becoming a pilot — her mother," he said. "It's good for aviation and inspiring for us all."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.