Became the 16th woman in the US to be issued a pilot's license (No. 6017) by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
On May 16, 1923, Amelia Earhart was issued pilot's license No. 6017 by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the international governing body for aeronautical world records and licensing. She was only the sixteenth woman in the United States to earn such certification.
This internationally recognized license went beyond the domestic NAA certification she had earned in 1921, granting Earhart standing to compete for and set officially recognized world records — a credential that would prove essential for her subsequent altitude and transatlantic achievements to be validated by international aviation authorities.
At the time, aviation itself was barely two decades removed from the Wright Brothers' first flight, and formal licensing structures for pilots, particularly women, were still being established. Earhart's early acquisition of FAI credentials reflected both her seriousness of purpose and the growing, if still marginal, institutional space being carved out for female aviators. It was a foundational credential that enabled her later record flights to be recognized as official, legitimate achievements rather than mere publicity stunts, reinforcing her credibility within the aviation establishment.