Her dream of flying began as a child, when she lived just steps from the "Fortunato Cesari" Military Airport in Galatina and listened to the noise of the planes. But Lucia Sabrina Papa, 56, born in Salice Salentino, has been blind since birth due to retinal dystrophy. Despite this, she managed to become the first blind student pilot in Italy , and this morning she had the opportunity to enter a control tower for the first time , the ENAV control tower at Rome-Fiumicino Airport, where she experienced firsthand the work of air traffic controllers and the technologies used.
"Ever since I was little," Lucia said, "when I heard airplanes, I ran into the garden. I was drawn to that powerful roar that almost wanted to lift me off the ground. I always say that, as a child, I wanted to be the plane and not the pilot, because the plane flew higher and faster than birds. I imagined this sky, immense, free, while from my position the earth seemed full of obstacles."
After a career in the IT sector, his dream began to take shape in 2016 when he began his journey at the controls of various aircraft: from the two-seater Sky Arrow and Tecnam P-92 ultralights to the Cessna 152 and 172, up to the Extra EA-200 aerobatic plane.
"I never had the idea," Lucia emphasizes, "of piloting: I started 11 years ago thanks to the 'Baroni Rotti' association and the We-Fly Team; I first approached flying as a passenger and then, thanks to the instructor, I understood how the controls worked. Gradually, I held these controls more and more and began to feel the plane was more and more my own, until I found an instructor who understood that I could do much more. We invented a tactile method for understanding the plane's attitude and for reading the indicators: I learned what to do and when to do it . The instructor is always by my side and is my eyes. I've logged 200 hours of flight time in ultralights and now I'm in general aviation. I've also tried helicopters, but I prefer airplanes."
His experience is recounted in his autobiography, "Flying into the Invisible." The visit to the Rome-Fiumicino Control Tower, which was also attended by Minister for Disabilities Alessandra Locatelli, was organized with the support of Anacna, the National Association of Air Navigation Assistants and Controllers. Hosting the event were ENAV President Sandro Pappalardo and Control Tower Manager Aldo Crisafulli.
