Page 63 - South Mississippi Living - September, 2025

“It’s not just abou”t flying, it’s about showing women that the sky isn’t the limit—it’s just the beginning. – Taylor Dickey
Into the Storm, She Flies
At first glance, Shade Tree Field in Gulfport doesn’t look like the kind of place where hurricane missions
are born. It’s a quiet, grass-strip airport tucked into the Mississippi pines—more front porch than flight line. But for Captain Ashley Kosturock, it was the beginning of everything.
Followed by flight lessons with Mark Stevens,
a retired Lieutenant Colonel Navigator with the
Air Force Reserve’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, also known as the Hurricane Hunters—her interest ignited in weather reconnaissance.
But her connection to the mission runs deeper. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. Her father, a Biloxi police officer, worked through the chaos, and Kosturock photographed the wreckage along Highway 90. She still carries those photos to airshows and public events to remind her why she flies.
Now a pilot with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, better known as the Hurricane Hunters, Kosturock is one of the few who fly directly into the world’s most dangerous storms. She and her crew
collect data that satellites and radar can’t reach— information that helps forecasters predict intensity, landfall, and impact more accurately.
Ashley Kosturock.
“No two storms are the same,” she said. “As you
get closer to the eye wall, winds will increase and
rain, sometimes hail smacks the plane. A light to moderate turbulence flight can turn into an aggressive rollercoaster, car wash combo sensation.”
Despite the chaos, the mission is guided by rigorous training, checklist discipline, and a deep sense of purpose. Kosturock has served in the Air Force Reserve for five years, commissioning after graduating from Mississippi State University and completing pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base.
The storm flights may be intense, but they come with rare beauty, too. From sunrises and rocket launches to the eerie calm inside a hurricane’s eye, her camera roll is packed with snapshots of the sky’s most dramatic moments.
SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living | www.smliving.net September 2025 | 63