What began as a reporting assignment for Stephanie Goetz quickly became a firsthand experience when she took the controls of an airplane. An award-winning television news anchor, she climbed into the cockpit for a segment on aviation and felt her world tilt as the runway fell away. “The moment I put my hands on the yoke and felt the airplane lift off for the first time, something clicked,” she said. “I thought, ‘Where has this been all my life?’”
That assignment rewrote her script. Years later, Stephanie is no longer telling stories from behind a news desk; she is writing them across the desert sky in a streak of pink. As president and pilot of The Pink Jet, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, she leads a female team flying a bold pink L‑39 Albatros to promote breast cancer awareness, early detection, and survivor support at airshows and events across North America. From her home base in Las Vegas, she has turned aviation into both a calling and a commitment to her adopted city.
“Flying The Pink Jet has become far more than piloting an iconic aircraft, it’s become a powerful, highly visible way to rally Southern Nevada, and every community we fly in, around breast cancer awareness, early detection and supporting survivors,” Stephanie said. “As a Las Vegan, I intentionally bring this mission into Southern Nevada—flying the jet in and out of Las Vegas, showing up in the community, and using this unmistakable pink aircraft to spark conversations that matter locally.”
It is hard to ignore a former military trainer jet painted in high-gloss pink. On airport ramps and at airshows, The Pink Jet pulls people in first with spectacle, then with something more disarming. “When people see the Pink Jet in our skies or on airport ramps, it wonderfully stops them,” she said. “It creates awareness in a way that’s emotional, memorable, and impossible to ignore. It reminds our community that breast cancer impacts people right here: our friends, families, and neighbors.” For Stephanie, what started as an airplane has become “a symbol of resilience, hope, and collective action.”
That symbol is rooted in a deeply personal story. Stephanie’s mother is a stage 3 breast cancer survivor, and her diagnosis reshaped her daughter’s sense of urgency. “My mom’s journey was very eye-opening and incredibly difficult to watch her go through,” Stephanie said. A doctor initially dismissed her mother’s concerns after a painful mammogram and told her there was nothing to worry about. Two years later, another mammogram revealed a nine millimeter tumor and cancer that had spread into her lymph nodes. “It is a lesson that I share with everyone to be your own advocate and to fight for yourself when you feel there is something off, no matter if the doctor feels it’s nothing.”
Her mother’s double mastectomy and radiation put the family into a season of uncertainty and grit. Stephanie carries that perseverance and determination with her in every takeoff. “It has helped me relate with and support survivors on a much deeper level because I have gone through it myself through my mom’s experience,” she said. The Pink Jet’s flights, with their tight turns and high‑G climbs, are more than airshow choreography; they are an airborne reminder that early detection matters and that survivorship deserves to be seen from miles away.
From the ground, the team refers to themselves as the Aerial Angels, women pilots with thousands of hours in civilian and aerobatic aircraft. “What happens around the Pink Jet goes far beyond the performance in the sky,” Stephanie said. “The flying draws people in, but it’s the representation that stays with them. When someone sees a woman step out of a bright pink jet—confident, capable, unapologetically in her place—it quietly rewrites what feels possible.”
“We hear daily from young girls who suddenly see aviation as a space for them. From student pilots who say they were on the verge of giving up, until they watched one of our Pink Jet pilots climb out of the jet and realized they belonged in this field too.” For breast cancer survivors and families, the connection is even more intimate. “They approach us, often emotional, sharing how seeing a symbol of strength, resilience, and hope in the air made them feel seen,” Stephanie said. “For those who are currently undergoing treatment, standing beside the jet is incredibly powerful.”
Off the ramp, Stephanie funnels her intensity into supporting aspiring aviators. “In Las Vegas, aviation dreams aren’t a distant dream. They are possible,” she said. “Through scholarships, mentorship, and coaching, I try to help turn access into opportunity—helping students from all walks of life see a real pathway forward, not just an aspiration. ‘Love Local’ means taking everything this journey has demanded of me—grit, sacrifice, persistence—and intentionally circling it back into the community that surrounds me.”
Her version of “Love Local” is built on a simple belief: “We believe that talent exists everywhere, that background doesn’t define altitude, and that with the right support, someone local can build a future in aviation that once felt impossible.” In a city built on reinvention, her path from news anchor to Bombardier Global 6000 pilot to L‑39 instructor and nonprofit leader feels particularly at home.
The work is fueled by donors and sponsors who keep engines turning and the mission airborne. “The Pink Jet and its mission is only possible by the support and donations of individuals and sponsors,” Stephanie said. “We would love to have locals join the fight against breast cancer, supporting survivors, and empower young women to get into aviation through supporting the Pink Jet.” For those who want to be part of the story, contributions can be made at thepinkjet.org or by following @thepinkjet and @jetgirlstephanie on social media, a way to help keep this pink streak of hope in the air, circling back over the city that calls it home.
It creates awareness in a way that’s emotional, memorable, and impossible to ignore. It reminds our community that breast cancer impacts people right here: our friends, families, and neighbors.