KaiserAir, Inc. President Honored By The FAA
KaiserAir, Inc. President, Ronald J. Guerra, was honored by the
FAA with the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award on April 11, 2011.
Guerra received the prestigious lifetime achievement award for his
aviation expertise and more than 60 years of safe pilot operations.
FAA official Guy Minor recognized Guerra at a celebration attended
by family members, friends, KaiserAir employees, and FAA staff.
Ronald Guerra
Guerra joined KaiserAir in 1960 as a captain on a DC-3, which
was the extent of the company’s flight department. He was
elected to his current position as President in 1979, when he and
other senior pilots purchased the organization following the
voluntary liquidation of Kaiser Steel Corporation. Under
Guerra’s leadership, KaiserAir today is an independent,
successful company with a staff of over 120 employees in two
locations: Oakland, CA, at Oakland International Airport and Santa
Rosa, CA, at Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport.
With more than 25,000 hours of flight time, Guerra has flown to
six continents including flights into China, Australia, and Russia.
He has flown all of the Gulfstream products, from the GI to the GV,
plus Cessna Citation, Learjet, Hawker, Falcon, and Lockheed
JetStar.
Guerra served as a member of the NBAA Board of Directors from
1967 to 1976, and was chairman of the NBAA Safety and Awards
Committee from 1968 to 1973. He served on the boards of
Aeronautical Radio Inc. and ARINC Research. He was also a member of
the Gulfstream Pilots Advisory Board.
In 2005, Guerra was the recipient of the John P.
“Jack” Doswell award, which recognizes lifelong
individual achievement in support of the aims, goals, and
objectives of business aviation. In 2010, he accepted the NBAA 60
Year Safe Flying Achievement Award for KaiserAir’s history of
unblemished aviation safety. In March 2011, KaiserAir (led by
Guerra), was the first air carrier to successfully complete FAR 121
Certification and ETOPS simultaneously and become a member of a
small special group of air carriers certified to operate aircraft
under FAR Parts 91, 121, and 135. The company is the second Oakland
home-based air carrier in Oakland’s airport history.
Prior to joining KaiserAir, Guerra was a pilot for various
airlines including Resort Airlines and World Airways in Oakland,
CA, during which time he became, at the age of 23, the youngest
four-engine airline captain in the United States. For the past 60
years, he has been and continues to be totally involved in the
flying industry. Ron and his wife, Russey Jane, reside in
Pleasanton, CA. They have three adult age children and five
grandchildren.