A Look Back At Friends And Colleagues Who Have Made Their Final Flight

It is never pleasant to review the roster of those who have left us over the course of a year, and it seems as if it's never a short list. But for those who knew each of these pilots and influencers of aviation who passed in 2011, the memories are warm, and we wish their families well.

January

ANN received word from ALPA that Capt. Clarence "Clancy" Prevost, pilot with Northwest Airlines for 25 years before retiring in 1993, passed away. Prevost is probably best known for his actions in 2001 as a simulator instructor working for a flight school near Minneapolis. His suspicions led to the arrest of 9/11 terrorist  Zacarias Moussaoui.

Larry Newman, the last surviving member of the crew of the Double Eagle II balloon - first to cross the Atlantic, succumbed to a 3-year long battle with pancreatic cancer in December.

February

Eurocopter test pilot Jean Boulet (pictured)  passed away at the age of 90. In a statement released to the media, the company paid tribute to Boulet's "legendary piloting skills and passion for flying established the Group's place in the history of rotorcraft."

March

Justin B. “Jack” Cox, EAA Lifetime 14286, who influenced generations of aviators as the long-time editor-in-chief of EAA Sport Aviation magazine, passed away March 6, 2011, at Randolph Hospital in Asheboro, North Carolina. Over his career at EAA, Jack was known as “the” spokesman for the homebuilt aircraft and sport aviation communities.

May

Violet Cowden, who served as a WASP in the Army Air Forces in 1943 and 1944, passed away in Newport Beach, CA April 10th at the age of 94. Cowden was among about 200 WASPs who were honored by President Barack Obama with a Congressional Gold Medal in 2010.

The founder of one of ANN's favorite events ... the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta ... passed away following a lengthy battle with stomach cancer. Sid Cutter died in his sleep at the age of 77.

Following the injuries she suffered in a March 12 airshow accident in Brownsville, TX, Amanda Franklin passed away at the Brookes Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

June

Maj. Gen. John R. Alison, USAF (Ret.), a highly decorated World War II combat ace and Korean War veteran, died on Monday, June 06, 2011, at his home in Washington, D.C. He was 98 years old. Alison's wartime achievements include seven confirmed and numerous probable kills while flying with, and commanding, the 75th Fighter Squadron "Flying Tigers."  Additionally, he was co-commander of an Air Commando Force – the first in military history – which fought behind Japanese lines in Burma in World War II. He also is known as the father of Air Force special operations.

The man best known around the air show circuit as "Big B" ... Bill Beardsley ... passed away June 11th after a reportedly long battle with cancer which he chose to keep private.

July

Marion Cole (pictured) passed away. One of the most famous (though Marion might have termed that as 'infamous') of the early generation of aerobatic pilots and airshow performers, Marion Cole was 86 and had an undeniable impact on the entire sport aviation world.

An announcement on the Greg Poe Airshows' Twitter site brought very sad news. The well-known airshow performer had passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack.

August

Two veteran pilots were fatally injured when the replica Wright "B" Flyer they were aboard went down during a test flight. One of them was a former president of the Wright "B" Flyer non-profit organization which had built the aircraft.

An E-Racer experimental aircraft on its first flight nosed over while attempting an off-airport emergency landing, fatally injuring the builder/pilot of the airplane. Jack Morrison, 73, was the only person on board the aircraft at the time of the accident.

A decorated veteran and his girlfriend were fatally injured when the plane they were in went down at the Warrenton Air Park in Fauquier County, VA. Shannon Beebe was flying with Elizabeth Pignatello when the accident occurred.

Air Force Col. Ralph Albertazzie (Ret.), who passed away at his home in Berkley County, WV. Col. Albertazzie had been the pilot of Air Force One during the Nixon administration.

September

One of the pioneer women in aviation passed away in Florida. Betty Skelton Erde was 86 years old. Erde, a resident of Winter Park, Florida, was born in Pensacola, FL in 1926. According to Wikipedia, she set 17 aviation and automobile records and was credited with opening doors for women in aviation and the automotive world, as well as astronautics and advertising.

Cliff Robertson was a man known to many as a fine actor in everything from "Charly" to "Spiderman" -- but, far more important to me, he was known to those of us in the aviation world as a quiet, friendly and uncommonly humble flyer with a heart of gold and a never-ending supply of flying stories.

Aviation icon Mort Brown (pictured), the first Chief Pilot of Production Flight Test, Cessna Aircraft Company, from 1937 - 1972, died at the age of 103.

October

Former WWII triple ace fighter pilot and hearing aid entrepreneur Kenneth Dahlberg passed away at his home in Deephaven, MN. He was 94 years old. The pilot and entrepreneur had a cameo role in the Watergate Scandal.

Strong Enterprises reported on the company website that company founder Ted Strong passed away on Friday. No cause of death was listed in the notice, but a comment posted to the company website by Strong Enterprises noted that, "An incident has occurred during a Military Training exercise."

A memorial service was held for Charles Roger Keeney of Lomita, CA, who died of natural causes at age 100 on August 27. Keeney flew for the last time in his Super Cub on his 97th birthday, in February of 2008.

November

For many years, the term "Learjet" was synonymous with business aviation. The man largely credited with making that connection was Jim Greenwood, a former PR Director for Bill Lear. Greenwood passed away in Green Valley, AZ at the age of 91.

James Robert “Bob” Moseley (pictured) passed quietly in his sleep on November 17 at the age of 64. At the time of his passing, Moseley was serving as Superior Air Parts' manager of Technical Support and Training at the Superior Aviation Beijing facility in Beijing, China.

December

Former FAA Administrator J. Lynn Helms, who led the agency during Ronald Regan's first term as president and was instrumental in the firing of some 11,000 striking air traffic controllers, passed away December 11th at the age of 86.

The last member of the original Boeing B-52 design team, whose proposal and balsa scale model won Air Force approval to build the plane, passed away at age 94.

FMI: www.aero-news.net