Reportedly Died Suddenly On Monday

Pilot Getaways magazine editor John Kounis has unexpectedly Gone West, according to his brother and publisher of the magazine George Kounis.

George posted a message on the magazine's Facebook page, saying that "All of us at Pilot Getaways have a heavy heart today. Our editor, John Kounis, my brother, business partner, and best friend, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly this morning."

The cause of Kounis' death was not revealed.

According to a bio posted on the magazine's website, John was recognized as an expert in recreational destinations for private pilots. An avid pilot, he amassed more than 5,000 flight hours over the last 20 years, visiting more than 50 countries from Zimbabwe to Norway and Canada.

For the magazine, he continued to criss-cross the country in search of exciting destinations. In addition to flying 90% of the photo missions for Pilot Getaways, he was responsible for all magazine content and frequently gave speeches about the best fly-in destinations.

John was an experienced mountain flyer, and knew how to handle international operations, over-water procedures, long distance navigation, and a number of other advanced techniques

Prior to entering the publishing world, John was employed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, working on a variety of projects, most recently as lead system engineer for a component of the Cassini Spacecraft Ground Data System. The spacecraft made a successful rendezvous with Saturn in July 2004.

On Facebook, George said additional information would be posted on the magazine's website as it became available.

(Image from Facebook post)

FMI: http://pilotgetaways.com/