Bill was Editor-in-Chief of Business & Commercial Aviation from 2000 to 2020. During his stewardship, the monthly magazine received scores of awards for editorial excellence.
He is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement in Journalism Award from the National Business Aviation Association; the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Aerospace Media Awards; the Aviation Journalism Award from the National Air Transportation Association; and an Aerospace Journalist of the Year Award for Business Aviation.
Previously, Bill served as Managing Editor of Aviation Week Television. He was the top editor for both Flying and Professional Pilot magazines, as well as a member of the senior editorial staff at Reader's Digest. He also managed communications for FlightSafety International.
Bill has authored or co-authored three aviation books, was an essayist for National Public Radio, wrote aviation documentaries for The Discovery Channel and has written for numerous publications including The New York Times, Smithsonian Air & Space, Popular Mechanics and The Associated Press, among others.
An active aviator, Bill holds a Commercial Pilot license, along with multiengine, instrument, seaplane and glider ratings.
It was a business flight from Visalia, Calif., to Ravalli County Airport in Hamilton, Mont. Aboard the Cessna Citation 560 was an ATP pilot and one passenger. According to witnesses, as the aircraft flared for landing, it kept floating until it touched down about 1,500 feet down the 4,200-foot-long runway. The aircraft began to slow, but failed to stop before running off the end. The Citation sustained substantial damage.
The prototype Spectrum 33 light jet was destroyed and its two test pilots killed during takeoff from Runway 30 at Spanish Fork-Springville Airport, in Spanish Fork, Utah. Witnesses saw the airplane enter a right roll almost immediately after takeoff. The roll continued to about 90-degrees right wing down at which point the tip struck the ground and the aircraft cartwheeled. Prior to this flight, the aircraft had undergone maintenance, which included disconnecting the aileron linkages.
