[2] Rainey received her wings of gold as the first female to be designated a naval aviator in February 1974[3] and became the first Navy woman to qualify as a jet pilot.

[6] In early 1973, the Secretary of the Navy John W. Warner announced a test program to train female Naval Aviators.

[6] Seeking a greater challenge and wanting to follow in the footsteps of her U.S. Marine Corps aviator brother, Bill, Allen applied to the program and was accepted into the U.S.

[3] Allen and seven other women reported for flight training on March 2, 1973 at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.

[3] On July 13, 1982, Allen, along with trainee, Ensign Donald Bruce Knowlton, was practicing touch-and-go landings at Middleton Field near Evergreen, Conecuh County, Alabama when the aircraft banked sharply, lost altitude, and crashed.