Former Afghan Air Force pilot fights to revive his aviation career in Maine

During the war against the Taliban, it’s estimated that the United States spent tens of billions of dollars to train and equip Afghanistan’s security forces, including the thousands of pilots that flew supply planes, fighter jets, and attack helicopters, in addition to mechanics and ground crew.

When the U.S. withdrew its forces in 2021, most of these aviation professionals went into hiding. The few pilots that have managed to get to the United States have largely remained grounded, unable to afford certification. But one former helicopter pilot now living in Auburn is fighting to get back in the air, with help from some American military veterans.

At the New England Aviation Academy in Brunswick, flight instructor Tony Alves is helping 26 year-old Farooq Safi get situated in the cockpit of a small propeller plane.

This will be Safi’s first time piloting an aircraft in the U.S., but he is no stranger to the skies. Growing up in Kabul, Safi said his childhood dream was to become a pilot. He went on to graduate from the Afghan Air Force academy and trained to fly Black Hawk helicopters.

But shortly after completing his training, the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan. As the government collapsed and the Taliban stormed Kabul, Safi said he and fellow Air Force service members decided their best hope for survival was to take one of the planes and flee to neighboring Uzbekistan, and hope for the best.

“One of my friends was taking the plane, trying to go towards Uzbekistan without knowing anything,” Safi said.

With the help of the U.S. government, Safi eventually resettled in the Lewiston Auburn area, alongside several other Afghan Air Force veterans.

Safi said he wanted to restart his flying career, but ran into a major roadblock.

“First of all, you need a lot of money,” he said.

At least $40,000, to be precise, which Safi said he didn’t have.

Then, he met Jen Fullmer, a retired colonel who flew for 24 years in the U.S. Air Force.

“He reminded me of myself when I was 26 years old,” Fullmer said, of Safi. “And I just knew we needed to help him.”

Fullmer, who lives in Biddeford, started applying for grants and raising money through a GoFundMe. Her goal is to come up with the money to cover the training and flight hours Safi needs to get his private pilot’s license. It’ll cost even more for Safi to get a commercial license.

Fullmer, who flew dozens of missions over Afghanistan, said helping Safi is personal. Especially after seeing how the U.S. withdrawal hurt many of the Afghans she’d served with.

“We were over there supporting our Afghan allies for 20 years, me personally, it was, like 15 years. And I’ve seen the anguish and and of their lives just being completely torn apart,” she said.

Brunswick flight instructor Tony Alves, a retired Marine, said he too was angered by how the withdrawal was handled.

“I mean, you know, our ethos is we never leave anybody behind,” Alves said.

Alves said the flight school covered the cost of Safi’s classroom instruction, and is providing today’s introductory flight lesson for free.

After taxing out to the runway, Safi and Alves lifted off into a stiff breeze, then banked left and buzzed out of sight.

Safi is among hundreds of Afghan pilots, mechanics, and ground grew who’ve resettled in the U.S. since the fall of Kabul, according to the Afghan American Development Group, a nonprofit formed to help these aviation professionals restart their lives and careers.

Russ Pritchard, the group’s CEO, said a few have gotten jobs flying for FedEx and UPS feeder airlines, jobs for which he said they are eminently qualified.

“You stack them up against some of the other employees that they’ve hired for the same positions, and this guy literally has thousands of hours more airtime under combat, under duress,” Pritchard said.

But Pritchard said the cost of training, the day-to-day challenges of resettlement, and the urgent need to send money to family back home have kept most Afghan aviators grounded.

As his organization tries to raise enough money to cover those training costs, Pritchard said he’d like to see some American defense contractors pitch in.

“There’s a lot of companies that made a lot of money in Afghanistan, like Raytheon, Sierra Nevada Corporation, I mean, they made huge money,” he said. “And I’d love for them to say, hey, disgorge, some of those profits back to the people you made money off of because they’re trying to survive.”

At the former Naval Airbase in Brunswick, Safi and Alves bring the plane back to the hangar after the introductory training flight.

After years of flying helicopters, Safi said his first time at the controls of a fixed wing aircraft wasn’t too difficult.

“It was good,” he said. “It was so nice.”

Still, even if everything goes smoothly, he is still potentially years away from his long-term goal of becoming an airline pilot.

But Safi said he doesn’t care how long it takes.

“As I say, it’s a dream,” he said. “When you want to reach that dream, you have to work for it and to try to get it.”