South African pilot wins DJI’s #ChoosetoFly campaign

Congratulations to Liezl MacKenzie from Cape Town, South Africa who won this year’s Choose to Fly campaign by DJI.

A GIS Technician at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, Liezl’s journey to getting qualification as a drone pilot was inspirational, as she has become the department’s first drone pilot.

She is also the first woman who works in the agriculture industry to receive a Remote Pilot License from the South African Aviation Authority (SACAA).

Liezl is part of the department’s research team that collects and analyses multispectral data across seven research farms located in the Western Cape. She fell in love with drone technology after attending a drone exhibition. When the department purchased its very first drone, she took it as an opportunity to learn more about it and, ultimately, become a qualified drone pilot.

The Choose to Fly campaign gathers stories of women’s experiences with drone technology, with the aim to inspire more women into the drone space.

In the USA, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) statistics of women registered as drone pilots has grown from 793 in 2016 to over 19,000 in 2021, with almost 50 percent of them registered as commercial drone pilots.

“These women are catalysts of change as they lead the adoption of drones in their communities and organizations,” says DJI.

“We want to celebrate and share their stories with the world.”

Liezl also won a DJI Mavic 3 for her inspirational story.

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