Miss World Cayman Islands Leanni Tibbetts now a Twin Otter fleet pilot Loop Cayman Islands

Black Immigrant Daily News

Leanni Tibbetts, who was crowned Miss World Cayman Islands 2022 on Saturday, September 24 is now a pilot with Cayman Airways’ Twin Otter fleet.

Tibbetts and another young Caymanian pilot — Nathan Myers — successfully completed Cayman Airways’ rigorous recruitment and training programme to become the newest First Officers on the airline’s Twin Otter fleet, which is operated by Cayman Airways Express, which is a subsidiary of Cayman Airways Limited (CAL).

“We are thrilled to welcome these two very talented and qualified Caymanian pilots to the Cayman Airways family and we look forward to watching them advance up the ranks to Captain of the B737-8 jet fleet,” said Captain Dave Scott, executive vice president of Operations, and chief operations officer.

Leanni Tibbetts and Nathan Myers in the cockpit.

Cayman Airways offers a special training programme for entry-level Caymanian pilots.

The two new pilots joined Cayman Airways Express on May 23, 2022, with First Officer Myers passing his training flight on September 2 and flying his first commercial flight with Express on September 13. First Officer Tibbetts passed hers on Friday, September 23. She will fly her firstcommercial flight with Express on October 3.

Their Ground School and Flight Training was conducted in-house by Captain Johan Bjuroe, who is the manager of Flight Training for Cayman Airways Express.

“It has been a pleasure working with Nathan and Leanni,” said Captain Bjuroe. “I’ve trained a lot of Caymanian pilots over the years and I’m very proud to see another group of young Caymanians come through successfully.”

Eight Caymanian pilots, including Nathan and Leanni, were recently offered the position of First Officer on the Twin Otter fleet, and the remaining six are awaiting the required Ground School Training in the coming months.

Captain Gary Hydes, Acting Chief Pilot for Cayman Airways, noted that the airline’s objective is for all new pilot hires to eventually become B737-8 captains. He explained that a pilot’s career progression at CAL starts with the entry-level pilot position of First Officer on the Twin Otter fleet, followed by the First Officer position on the Saab 340B+ fleet.

They then progress to Captain of the Twin Otter fleet, followed by movement to the B737-8 fleet as First Officer, then Captain on the Saab 340B+, and finally to Captain on the B737-8 jets, which is considered the pinnacle of each CAL pilot’s career.

“I would like to congratulate both Leanni and Nathan and welcome them to the Cayman Airways pilots fraternity,” said Captain Hydes. “I look forward to working with them as they navigate through their careers at Cayman Airways.”

When asked how she feels about achieving this milestone, First Officer Tibbetts said: “It’s exciting because it’s been a long time coming. I graduated in 2019 but Cayman Airways wasn’t hiring at the time so I left the aviation field for a while until I heard that Cayman Airways was hiring pilots again, and clearly the love and passion is still there for flying.”

First Officer Myers shared similar sentiments, stating: “Ever since I was a young boy, it was a goal to fly for Cayman Airways, so now that I’m finally here it feels surreal, and I can’t believe it’s actually happening!”

Both new pilots praised the extensive time and attention they received from CAL’s pilots throughout their training process, and thanked them for their encouragement and support.

In addition to their pilot licenses and Cayman Airways’ pilot training, both new Express pilots have Bachelor of Science degrees.

First Officer Myers has a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics from Liberty University in Virginia and an Associate Degree in Science from the University College of the Cayman Islands with a concentration in Physics and Environmental Science. He has a Commercial Multi-Engine License with Instrument Rating.

First Officer Tibbetts has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aviation Management, with a Flight Minor in Aviation Environmental Science from the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT).

She has a Commercial Multi-Engine license with Instrument Rating. She was also President of Women in Aviation at FIT and currently serves as a volunteer Sub-Lieutenant with the Cayman Islands Cadet Corps and is a volunteer Call-Taker with the National Emergency Operations Centre.

First Officer Tibbetts is now the fourth active female pilot at Cayman Airways overall, which is 10% of the 44 pilots currently employed by the airline. The female pilots are: First Officer Giselah Ebanks, B737-8 fleet; Captain Crystal Godet, Twin Otter fleet; First Officer Amber Hydes, Twin Otter fleet; andFirst Officer Leanni Tibbetts, Twin Otter Fleet.

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