Selase Agbenyefia

Selase Agbenyefia or Selase Yaaya Agbenyefia (born 1978) is an officer in the Ghana Air Force and she became the first Ghanaian female helicopter pilot.

Agbenyefia had gained the unusual ambition of becoming a pilot. She applied to join the air force but when she turned up with the other recruits she found that she had been assigned to the army. She challenged this with Major General Joseph Narh Adinkra and she was told that the air force did not take women. She challenged this and her tenacity was rewarded when she was sent away with other prospective pilots for training.

The prospective candidates were reduced to 20 and then to 15 when they were based at the Ghana Military Academy at Teshie in Accra. Her first flight was in an Aero L-29 Delfín Jet Trainer which she first flew with Air Commodore Philip Ayisa in September 1998.

Flight Experience

Rating: Command Pilot Flight hours: more than 1800 Aircraft: Aero L-29 Delfín, AgustaWestland AW109, Bell 412 and Mil Mi-17.

Awards +YearNominee/WorkAwardsResult 2017HerselfGhana's First Female Helicopter Pilot