Karina Miranda

Karina Miranda is a Chilean Air Force combat aviator who, in 2010, became the first woman from her country to break the sound barrier, flying faster than per hour on one of her training flights in a Northrop F-5 fighter.

Biography Miranda (also known as Karina Miranda Cottenie or Karina Miranda C.) was born and raised in Puerto Montt, Chile. She applied to the Chilean Air Force when she was 17 and, after graduation from the A-36 course at the age of 24, became the first Chilean female combat pilot. Over time she has risen through the ranks from second lieutenant to lieutenant to captain. Miranda was joined at the museum by the Ecuadorian civilian pilot Ruth Morales, who has lived and worked in the United States as a flight tester for Boeing.

The agenda for the exhibition included having the two pilots meet young American females to encourage them to consider aviation careers and to explore piloting opportunities.