Page 14 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2021

COAST NOTE
HISTORY IN
story by Kelsey Sunderman-Foster photos courtesy of Malik Sinegal
Biloxi High School Grad Becomes Youngest African American Boeing 777 Pilot
Receiving a phone call from a Boeing representative, 23-year- old Malik Sinegal, a former Biloxi resident and Indian,
found out some amazing news – he was the youngest African American Boeing 777 pilot in history.
The Boeing 777 is the largest twinjet plane in the world, which is why its pilots are held in such high regard. “The Triple 7 is one of the airplanes that people usually don’t touch until they’re around their forties or fties, or they’ve been at the airlines for a very long time,” said Sinegal. “I’ve always wanted to y this airplane. I was able to get in it for my rst time in 2004 going to Anchorage, Alaska, which is my favorite place in the world.”
Sinegal has a private pilot certi cate and studied commercial aviation at Delta State University, graduating in 2019. In 2018, he travelled the globe as an ambassador for Republic Airlines, stopping in places such as Egypt, Dubai, Australia and Tokyo. He dedicated the 16-day trip to his late grandmother, who died in 2017 and dreamed of traveling the world.
Earlier this year, Sinegal founded the Organization for Professional Minority Pilots, which is based in Memphis. He also serves as the program coordinator for a youth aviation mentorship program and is currently a ight instructor at New Heights Aviation in Batesville.
story by Lynn Lofton photos by Donn Hupp
The lower backs of Gulfport police o cers are sure to be in better shape thanks to a donation from chiropractor Dr. Jeremy Jernigan.
“These are police equipment vests administered by the police department to help remove the bulky and heavy equipment of the traditional belts they wear,” Jernigan, who’s practiced in Gulfport 15 years, said. “The current duty belt weighs about 20 pounds. This weight, as
well as the bulkiness of the belt, puts the o cer’s lower back muscles in a constant unbalanced and stressful state, especially when combined with prolonged activities such as sitting in a squad car and standing.”
He adds that by
replacing the belt with
a custom vest, and
redistributing most of
the weight to o cers’
chests instead of
the lower back, these vests will help signi cantly reduce the constant biomechanical stress on their lower backs.
“After taking care of many police o cers and rst responders over the years, I saw a consistent trend with lower back pain,” Jernigan said. “After learning that these vests have been tested with positive outcomes and educating our o cers on the bene ts, I knew they would be the best thing for them and their overall health. The decision was easy; we are honored to help our o cers and other rst responders feel their best.”
14 | January 2021
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
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Jernigan Chiropractic Provides Gulfport Police Department with Load Bearing Vests
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