Melody Millicent Danquah, Ghana’s First Female Pilot and Squadron Leader was born in Larteh Akuapem on 6 January 1937.
She was the first to fly solo, and first to finish in her class in 1964.
She enrolled in the Air Force after reading an advert in a newspaper during the tenure of the first President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
She finished first in her class and as Flt. Cadet Danquah, she flew solo for the first time in a de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk aircraft on June 22, 1964.
This made her the first Ghanaian and African woman ever to fly an aeroplane single-handedly. On April 15, 1965,
Danquah was presented with her Wings as a qualified pilot by Kofi Baako, the then Minister of Defence.
Due to ill-health, Danquah was discharged from the Force in 1984 and was given a Long Service award and The Efficiency Medal.
In 2006, former president John Kufuor honoured her with the Companion of the Order of the Volta in recognition of her groundbreaking spirit and courage.
She passed away on March 18, 2016, at the age of 79.
Source: Mybrytnewsroom.com/Kwabena Nyarko Abronoma
