Two young Caymanian pilots take to skies on Cayman Airways Express

Caymanians Nathan Myers and Leanni Tibbetts have been given their Cayman Airways wings as the newest first officers on the airline’s Twin Otter fleet.

The duo, Cayman Airways announced Friday evening, completed the airline’s “rigorous recruitment and training programme” and will now occupy the co-pilot seats.

They will be flying for Cayman Airways Express, a subsidiary of the national flag carrier.

Myers has already begun flying while Tibbetts will be in the cockpit starting next week.

“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,” Captain Dave Scott, executive vice president of operations and chief operations officer, said in a Cayman Airways statement.

Tibbetts, who was also recently crowned Miss World Cayman Islands, is now the fourth active female pilot at Cayman Airways, representing almost 10% of the 44 pilots currently employed by the airline.

A total of eight Caymanian pilots, including Myers and Tibbetts, 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, the statement said.

This announcement follows a statement earlier this month from Cayman Airways president and CEO Fabian Whorms which said that First Officers Troy McCoy, Tarik Goring, Brian Seales and Geoffrey Connolly will be promoted to captain within the next 18 months.

That round of promotions was to address the retirement of captains last year, as well as future pilot needs, the national flag carrier has said.

The four senior first officers are in the pipeline to be upgraded to captain on the B737-8 fleet with each already “assessed for their captaincy and command potential”.

A dream come true

The newest first officers spoke about their achievement.

Tibbetts said it is “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,” she said.

For Myers, it was a dream come true.

“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,” he said in the statement.

Captain Gary Hydes, acting chief pilot for Cayman Airways, explained that the airline’s objective is for all new pilot hires to someday become B737-8 captains.

A pilot’s career progression at CAL, he said, starts with the entry level pilot position of first officer on the Twin Otter fleet, followed by the same position on the Saab 340B+ fleet.

“They then progress to Captain of the Twin Otter fleet, which is 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,” the statement added.

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

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

Both have private pilot licences.

Cayman Airways, the statement said, offers a special training programme for entry-level Caymanian pilots.

Myers and Tibbetts both joined Cayman Airways Express on 23 May 2022, with Myers passing his training flight on 2 Sept. and Tibbetts on 23 Sept.

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.

About the new first officers

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 licence with instrument rating.

Tibbetts has a bachelor of science degree in aviation management with a minor in aviation environmental science from Florida Institute of Technology. She also has a commercial multi-engine licence 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.