A Santa Barbara County woman who was one of the nation’s first commercial airline pilots has been honored by the federal government. Karen Kahn was presented with the Federal Aviation Administration’s “Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award.”
It’s the FAA’s highest honor, and is given to master pilots with more than 50 years of experience. Kahn received the award last night at Santa Barbara Airport, where she is an airport commissioner.
She spent more than 35 years as a commercial airlines pilot, and is also certified as a flight instructor, and a seaplane and helicopter pilot.
In recent years, she’s been an active member of the non-profit group “A Different Point Of View,” which uses aviation to help advance the lives of young people.
