First-ever all-female Super Bowl LVII flyover features Alabama Navy pilot

Three U.S. Navy tactical aircraft squadrons flew over State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona immediately following the playing of the National Anthem on Sunday, Feb. 12.

The flyover at Super Bowl LVII commemorated 50 years of women flying in the U.S. Navy and showed off electronic capabilities of the elite aircraft, military officials said.

The fly-over team for Super Bowl LVII includes Lt. Arielle Ash of Abilene, Texas; Lt. Margaret Dente of North Salem, New York; Lt. Naomi Ngalle of Springfield, Virginia; Lt. Jacqueline Drew of Waltham, Massachusetts; Lt. Suzelle Thomas of Birmingham, Alabama; and, Lt. Kathryn Martinez, also of Springfield, Virginia.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville praised Thomas’ service in the Navy ahead of Sunday’s game.

Thomas, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, is a 2018 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, according to the Navy.

Most of the aircrew and support staff working with the squadrons on the ground are women as well, officials said.

The 2023 commemoration comes 50 years after the first women enrolled in the U.S. Navy flight program in 1973. Six of the eight initial enrollees, titled “The First Six,” earned their Wings of Gold the following year.