Brooklyn teens graduate from NYPD Aviation program

EAST NEW YORK, Brooklyn (PIX11) -- More than a dozen teens in Brooklyn are soaring to new heights as they celebrated the end of their NYPD Aviation program with a graduation ceremony. 

Over eight weeks, students learned the ins and outs of flying an airplane and navigating the skies with an aviation simulator. Becoming a pilot is a dream that 14-year-old Jameer Johnson never thought was possible coming from a community that does not often have access to creative programs. 

“I do want to become a pilot because I think that I just like being in the air and I just like flying,” Johnson said.  

At Friday’s graduation, he got to hear from aviation experts who gave students insight on the job and advice as they embarked on their aviation journeys.  

“I feel like this is a big opportunity to ask how did they make it and like to give us more advice and to see how big this community is,” Johnson said.  

NYPD officer Jamel Hilaire is a pilot himself and started the program to foster dreams and aspirations beyond city limits.  

“They’re somewhere safe,” Hilaire said. “It is somewhere where they can learn. Not only are they learning but they are learning something new that they have never been exposed to, and it is something that would prep them for the future in aviation career to pretty much propel, and maybe have a job that is going to pay them so well.” 

Kamora Freeland, 17, is already trailblazing the skies as the youngest African American pilot in New York State. She stopped by to give the teens words of encouragement as she hopes to inspire the next generation of future pilots.  

“The sky is not the limit and just keep going for your dreams,” Freeland said.  

“She’s so inspiring and she’s so young and beautiful and she did such a good job, and I’m grateful to have seen her up there,” said student Mia Bella Castrovaigas.  

Now that the students have completed the program, they will have the opportunity to take a flight later this year where they can try their hand at flying an actual airplane for the very first time.