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Feb 13, 2023 - Sports

All-women pilot team makes Super Bowl flyover history

Rebecca Falconer
US Navy pilots perform a flyover before Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium on February 12, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona.

U.S. Navy pilots performed a flyover before the 2023 Super Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Sunday. Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

A U.S. Navy flyover piloted by seven women made history just before kickoff at the Super Bowl game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Why it matters: The flyover at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, commemorating 50 years since women were allowed to become U.S. Navy pilots marked the first time the spectacle had been piloted by all-women crew.

A screenshot of an NFL tweet on the U.S. Navy all-women team of pilots noting for "the first time ever, an all-woman team of aviators will conduct the pregame flyover at the Super Bowl."
Photo: NFL/Twitter

What they're saying: "We stand on the shoulders of giants," said Lt. Caitlin Perkowski, one of the women who took part in the flyover, per a statement from the Defense Department.

  • "There's a lot of people who make what we do possible … this is for them."

By the numbers: About 15% of U.S. Navy pilots are women, CBS Sports noted.

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