ENGINEERED to TAKE FLIGHT

In a seemingly male-dominated field, Dana Eberly is making waves in the aviation industry as a Designated Airworthiness Engineer for Airbus right here in Mobile. Having started her career in the mid-1980s as one of the only female engineers at her company, Dana is now one of many women dominating her field today.

by Caroline Edmondson Photography Stevye Murray StevyePhotography.com

Originally from Saginaw, Mich., Dana Eberly’s road to engineering has been full of twists and turns, having first dreamed of being a flight attendant based on her love of traveling — a dream that later shifted to aspirations of becoming a pilot. “I recall my uncle (a Naval Commander) trying to convince my male cousin one year older than me to apply to the Naval Academy,” Dana shares. “While my cousin was not interested, I was listening, and decided to begin the long application and interview process to attend the U.S. Naval Academy in 1978.” Unfortunately, the discovery of her imperfect vision halted her path to becoming a pilot in the U.S. Navy.

 With a desire to further her academic career, Dana settled on a path in engineering based on her love of math and science. She graduated from Michigan State University and eventually followed in her father’s footsteps to become an engineer, starting a career that has meant so much to her. “I get to go to work every day performing a job I truly enjoy and get satisfaction from,” Dana shares. “I solve problems and come up with different solutions for the many challenges that present themselves daily in my chosen career path. As technology is ever-advancing, it is always a challenge to stay on top of the new offerings and make sure we are following all of the requirements to keep air travel safe,” she says.

 Dana’s job involves taking older aircraft purchased by newer airlines and turning the inside of the plane to reflect the new airline’s brand and image. “It involves everything you see inside an aircraft when you step on board from the floor to the ceiling, as well as the systems that provide comfort to the passengers and crew on the aircraft,” Dana shares. “It also includes what’s beneath the floor in cargo and the exterior livery (paint job) on the aircraft,” she explains. As an Airworthiness Engineer, it’s Dana’s responsibility to ensure that everything that goes onto the aircraft meets all of the requirements. Of course, being a woman in an engineering field has had its challenges. “When I first became an engineer in the mid-1980s and started positions at the different companies I worked in, I was either the only one or one of very few female engineers,” Dana recalls. “My introduction to the aviation industry in interior engineering with the airlines in the late 90s was simultaneously my introduction to no longer being the only female on the job,” Dana recalls.

 Married to husband Randy Eberly for the past 24 years, Dana and her husband share three sons: Josh (35), Scott (32), and Beau (30), as well as four grandchildren: Grace (10), Nova (11), Carter (5), and Raya (4). Dana loves spending time outdoors boating, swimming, hiking, and biking, but naturally, being an engineer, STEM education is a passion that overflows into her daily life as well, particularly through her involvement with the Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama’s annual “Wing It” event. “Our objective is to inspire these young women to aspire to become future employees in the aviation industry and to reach for any goals they wish to achieve,” Dana shares. “We introduce the girls to the concepts and physics of flight through a series of workshops and allow them to perform hands-on experiments or assignments to apply those concepts,” she explains. “Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics help to develop skills that are useful in everyday life.  We attempt to find some aspect of what we do as engineers in the aviation industry to spark an interest that can lead these young women to an education in STEM that will result in a satisfying career and life. I love watching them get excited about what they have learned and wanting to apply that new knowledge,” Dana says. Her advice to like-minded young ladies? “I would tell girls the same thing my mother told me as a child growing up: ‘Keep working hard and doing a good job and you can be or do anything you want,’” Dana shares.

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