AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2023 - 31

MI L ESTONES /
NEWS /
Air boss mourned
John Walsh worked with AOPA events
BY NIKI BRITTON
JOHN WALSH, WELL-KNOWN AIR BOSS, AOPA events collaborator,
U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and retired air traffic controller, died
November 16. He was 64 years old. Walsh's aviation career began
while serving in the Marine Corps from 1977 to 1981. During that
time, he attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, earned
his air traffic control certification, served as a tactical air controller,
and reached the rank of sergeant.
After leaving the Marine Corps, Walsh went to work for the
FAA and attended air traffic school in Oklahoma City, where he
met his wife and air boss partner, Nan Walsh, who was also working
to become an air traffic controller. Walsh went on to work for
the FAA for 25 years before retiring from Tampa Tower.
Walsh spent most of the past decade working airshows throughout
the United States, becoming heavily involved in aviation event
consultation, planning, and air traffic control with Nan. Through
the years, he helped coordinate shows with difficult regulatory and
FAA-related administrative challenges. Most notably, Walsh used
his background and experience to develop ramp management procedures
for special events, including the Masters golf tournament
and two Super Bowls.
Walsh and Nan also served as air boss for several AOPA Fly-Ins
between 2014 and 2022. Most impressive was their involvement in
AOPA's 2016 fly-in at Bremerton, Washington, where more than 700
aircraft were all safely and cheerfully guided in by the husband-andwife
team-the largest number of fly-in aircraft at any AOPA event.
niki.britton@aopa.org
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Mooney pilot, passenger rescued
from aircraft hanging in power lines
An early evening approach to a Maryland airport under
low overcast nearly ended in tragedy on November 27,
2022. It ended instead in a triumph of technical rescue,
although the pilot and passenger had to wait hours
dangling about 10 stories above the ground before
they were hoisted clear by cranes (see " What Went
Wrong, " p. 80).
FAA extending aircraft registration period
Aircraft owners will have more time to renew their
aircraft registration now that the FAA has issued a new
rule to extend the duration of certificates from three to
seven years.
Pilot job market has never seen
numbers like this
Unprecedented hiring by the 12 major airlines in the
United States-along with a record number of pilots
actively seeking employment-continued as 2022
came to a close.
New young pilot and father killed
Last month, AOPA Pilot featured a new young pilot,
Peter Jenkins, in a story on TacAero of Hood River,
Oregon (see " Off the Grid, " January 2023 AOPA Pilot).
Sadly we learned in early December that Peter and
his father, Mark, were killed in an airplane accident
while on patrol in the Tsavo East National Park in
Kenya. They were conservationists for the Sheldrick
Wildlife Trust who flew aerial surveillance in the
more than 3-million-acre park. " Mark and Peter died
doing what they loved. They were flying for the Trust
when their plane went down. We will never know the
precise circumstances that caused the crash. Mark's
last communication called for ground teams to move
out while access remained possible, ahead of a huge
storm that was moving in, " said the company website.
sheldrickwildlifetrust.org
Caravan crashes on test flight
An unmodified 2021 Cessna Grand Caravan 208B
leased to aircraft modification manufacturer Raisbeck
Engineering from Copper Mountain Aviation LLC
crashed during a test flight in Snohomish County in
Washington on November 18, 2022, killing all four
crewmembers on board.
NAA honors Susan Mallett
with Brewer Trophy
The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) has
announced that longtime aerospace educator Susan
Mallett will be the recipient of the 2022 Frank G.
Brewer Trophy. The trophy was established in 1943
to honor " significant contributions of enduring value
to aerospace education in the United States. " Past
recipients of the Brewer Trophy include Edward
Stimpson, Peggy Chabrian, the National Air and Space
Museum's docent corps, the NASA Spacelink Team,
Barrington Irving, and the 2021 recipient, Shelly Simi.
aopa.org
AOPA PILOT / February 2023
31
http://www.aopa.org http://www.aopa.org http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2023

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