Leman Altınçekiç

Leman Altınçekiç
Leman Altınçekiç in the 1950s
Born	Leman Bozkurt 1932 (1932) Sarıkamış, Turkey
Died	4 May 2001(2001-05-04) (aged 68–69) İzmir, Turkey
Occupation	Jet pilot
Known for	First female jet pilot in NATO

Leman Bozkurt Altınçekiç (1932 – 4 May 2001) was a Turkish pilot. She was the first female accredited jet pilot in Turkish Air Force and NATO.

Early years

Leman Bozkurt was born in 1932 in Sarıkamış, Kars Province in Azerbaijani family. After graduating from the girls' highschool in Istanbul, she applied to İnönü Training Center of Turkish Aeronautical Association in İnönü district of Eskişehir Province to be trained as a glider pilot.

Military service

When Turkish Air Force decided to enroll women in 1954, she applied to Air Forces. She was the very first female student in the military school in İzmir. She was trained on propeller aircraft between 1955 and 1957. In an interview she says that in the early days, the school had no boarding facility for the female students and she had to stay as a guest in the house of an officer's family. On 30 August 1957, she graduated as a military pilot. Although, later, five other female students were also accepted to school, she was the only female student to join the aviation unit in Eskişehir military base. She was trained in Eskişehir as a jet pilot and earned the rank of second lieutenant on 22 November 1958. Up to 1967 she flew in Republic F-84 Thunderjet and Lockheed T-33. Later years she served in staff duty. She retired as a senior air colonel.

Private life

In 1959, Leman Bozkurt married Tahir Altınçekiç, a colleague in Eskişehir. She died on 4 May 2001 in İzmir. She was laid to rest in Karabağlar Cemetery.

Legacy

On 1 December 1984, which is the 50th anniversary of full suffrage for Turkish women, she was invited to the Turkish parliament for receiving a plaque for being the first woman in a profession.