People: Hero at 19

Blain recently made headlines for being one of the youngest female pilots to help fight the California wildfires ravaging more than 4 million acres in the state. Blain has been around aviation since she was born and has been flying since she was 13 years old.

Blain mostly flies for her father’s company, Billings Flying Service, which contracts for disaster relief efforts, firefighting, and other operations. Blain is soft-spoken and exudes a sense of calmness about the firefighting missions, despite having so much resting on her shoulders.

“I’ve been working for my father’s company as both a fixed wing pilot and helicopter pilot since I got my commercial license. I’ve been following my dad around on fires for years and it’s always been something I’ve wanted to do,” she said. “Last year, summer of 2019, was my first fire season. I initially went out with my dad in the Black Hawk and from there started flying as a copilot in the Chinooks as well.”

For these recent missions, Blain has been co-piloting the CH–47D Chinook and serving as command pilot in the Sikorsky UH–60 Black Hawk. Blain holds ratings in gilders, fixed-wing aircraft, and rotorcraft.

Still finding time to fly, she is also working on her plan B—earning a degree at Rocky Mountain College in Montana, where she is a freshman.

[email protected]