ANN's Annual Review Of The Year That Was: Our Treasured Friends Who Have Gone West in 2010

Aero-News pays tribute to the following aviators -- in body and in spirit -- who slipped the surly bonds of Earth in 2010 -- some of whom were close friends, and all others our friends in spirit -- and extends our sincere sympathies to their families, and to any of our readers who also lost a loved one last year...

Joe Shannon,88, ended a 70-year career in aviation on Tuesday after a brief illness.  He was an aircraft mechanic, tactical fighter pilot, air show performer, corporate pilot and civil aviation enthusiast that was inducted into the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame in 1999. ANN Report January 11

Joe Shannon

Wallace D. ("Dip") Davis passed away at the age of age 86. Davis enlisted in the Army Air Corp and served during WWII as a Crew Chief on a B-24 and in Aviation Education. ANN Report January 12

Dave Richardson (aka DR), Line Service Manager of Million Air Toronto FBO and Toronto Airways Limited (TAL) studied Helicopter Maintenance at North Bay College and later applied for a line service position at the Toronto Buttonville Municipal Airport. Some 25 years later, he was still there, having progressed to the role of Line Service Manager. ANN Report January 20

Elliott Aviation co-founder Arlene Elliott passed away at the age of 91. A pilot in her own right (she soloed in a Piper Cub in 1936), Arlene instead chose to focus on promoting general aviation, and is widely credited with persuading banks to finance purchases of business aircraft, which enabled a broader range of entrepreneurs to gain access to these powerful business tools. ANN Report January 24

Stephen O'Keefe, 70, died of internal injuries sustained after a hard skydive landing at Zephyrhills Municipal Airport (KZPH).  The veteran parachutist's death was blamed on an unexpected gust of wind as he approached the ground near Skydive City. ANN Report January 25

Retired Air Force Lt. Colonel Lee A. Archer (below, left), who is widely recognized as America's only black Ace pilot, passed away in New York City at the age of 90. ANN Report January 31

The first woman to serve as major general in the Air Force, and the Department of Defense, passed away in February. Retired Maj. Gen. Jeanne M. Holm is credited as the single driving force in achieving parity for military women and making them a viable part of the mainstream military. ANN Report February 19

Maj. Gen. Jeanne Holm

Morry Hummel, creator of the "Hummel Bird" and founder of Hummel Aviation, died at his home. Hummel began his love of aviation early, winning awards for his model airplanes starting in seventh grade. He did metal work for Howard Aircraft before moving to the experimental department at Curtis Wright in Columbus, OH. ANN Report February 22

Up until her 90th birthday, Marguerite Lawrence visited the EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh every year, selling tickets as a volunteer by day and sleeping in a pup tent at night. Lawrence passed away at 93. ANN Report February 24

John L. Baker, who served as the president of AOPA from 1977 through 1990. He was only the second person to serve in that capacity. ANN Report March 11

Elinor Smith (Sullivan), aviation pioneer and record-setting aviatrix died at the age of 98. One of the youngest and most daring pilots of the 1920s, Smith's numerous records for endurance, altitude, and speed, along with her work as a test pilot, left an indelible mark on the history of aviation. ANN Report March 24

Major Robert White, who flew the X-15 to an altitude of 314,750 feet, or 59 miles, becoming the first "winged astronaut." passed away in March. He was the first to fly at Mach 4, Mach 5 and Mach 6; he was the first to fly a winged vehicle into space. ANN Report March 25

Major Robert White

Aviation Lawyer David N. Zeehandelaar passed away following a battle with lymphoma. He was 55 years old. He was a well known expert in aviation law, leading the aviation practice for the law firm Blank Rome L.L.P., and handling litigation involving both major airline and commuter airline disasters and accidents involving military aircraft and components. ANN Report March 25

Morris Jeppson, one of the crewmembers on board the Enola Gay during her historic mission which helped bring the war in Japan to a close, has passed away. The Weapons Test Officer was 87. ANN Report April 10

Wayne Rosenkrans, the former president and chief executive officer of Jeppesen, passed at the age of 86. Mr. Rosenkrans joined Jeppesen following service as an Army Air Corps F-47 pilot during World War II. ANN Report April 18

David Simons, who in 1957 flew a helium balloon to the edge of space, passed away at his home in Covington, GA at the age of 87 years old. ANN Report April 23

Stelio Frati, the Italian designer best known for the F.8 Falco but with many other airplanes credited to his drawing board (no CAD for him), passed away in Italy at the age of 91. ANN Report May 17

Former NTSB Chairman Jim Burnett passed away in his hometown of Clinton, AR, at the age of 62. Burnett, a Reagan appointee, served as Chairman of the body from 1982-1988. ANN Report May 18

Ret. Col. Walker Mahurin, the Air Force's first double ace in World War II, who later flew in the Pacific Theater and the Korean War, died at his home in Newport Beach, CA. ANN Report May 18

Col. Walker Mahurin, (left) with fellow ace
Maj. Walter Beckham

Robert J. Serling, whose book "The President's Plane Is Missing" spent 21 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, passed away at the age of 92 in Tucson, AZ. ANN Report May 20

The last of 15 Navy men were awarded the Medal of Honor following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor passed away, the oldest living recipient of the nation's highest award for valor. ANN Report June 2

Dr. Paul Garabedian, an innovative mathematician who was among the first to use computer modeling to design a fuel-efficient airplane wing, died at the age of 82 in New York. ANN Report June 10

Documented original Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. (Ret.) William H. Holloman, III passed away on at Valley Medical Center, Renton, WA. He was 85 years old. ANN Report June 14

Lt. Col William H. Holloman

The former director of the Stennis Space Center has died from complications related to an insect sting. Roy Estess passed away at the age of 71 at his Tylertown, MS residence. ANN Report June 29

Considered by some to be one of aviation's most colorful pilots, Captain Clyde "Frank" Lang, passed away in Houston, Texas, after a brief illness. Lang was 87. ANN Report July 20

The Australian who is credited with coming up with the idea for the Flight Data and Cockpit Voice Recorders ... known simply as the "Black Boxes", passed away in Australia at the age of 85. ANN Report July 22

Reginald Levy started his 50th birthday like he did many days, departing Brussels as a pilot for Sabena Airlines on a flight to Tel Aviv. The Boeing 707 Levy was flying was hijacked by Palestinian militants about half way through the flight to Israel. The militants forced Levy to land the plane at what is now Ben Gurion Airport, and said they would blow it up if Israel did not release 300 Palestinian prisoners. That pilot, who became famous for his cool-headed response to the hijacking, passed away in Dover in southern England at the age of 88. ANN Report August 6

A DeHavilland floatplane went down in Alaska in IFR conditions. On board were a reported 9 people including retired Republican Senator Ted Stevens. Stevens and four others were fatally injured. ANN Report August 10

Senator Ted Stevens

Another of the pioneers of the United State's early space program, John New, who had been an engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center during the early days of satellite development, died at the age of 89. ANN Report August 17

Red Bull Air Race pilot Alejandro (Alex) Maclean was fatally injured at the age of 41 in an accident in his native Spain. Maclean was practicing aerobatics for an air show. ANN Report August 18

Brig. Gen. Thomas C. Casaday of Birmingham, AL, Civil Air Patrol's national commander in the late 1970s and a 1980 inductee into the CAP Hall of Honor, died at the age of 92. ANN Report August 22

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announced the death of Capt. Robert C. Truax, past president of the American Rocket Society, organizer of the U.S. Naval Missile Test Center’s propulsion research laboratory at Point Mugu, CA, and AIAA Honorary Fellow. Capt. Truax passed away in Vista, CA,at the age of 93. ANN Report September 22

David Cronin, who was the captain of United Airlines Flight 811 on February 24, 1989, passed away Monday at his home in Nevada at the age of 81. Flight 811, a 747-100, was enroute to Auckland, New Zealand. It has stopped in Honolulu and was climbing through FL220 when the forward cargo door blew out, creating a gaping hole in the fuselage of the aircraft. ANN Report October 07

Joseph G. Gavin Jr., the man who led the team which designed the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) for the Apollo moon missions passed away in Amherst, MA, at the age of 90. ANN Report November 09

Lunar Module Test Platform

Leslie Nielson, one of the stars of what became an iconic spoof of the disaster movie genre 'Airplane!', passed away at his home in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Nielson was 84. ANN Report November 30

Richard Abruzzo and Carol Rymer Davis, who died when their balloon when down during the Gordon Bennett Trans-Atlantic race, were recovered off the coast of Italy, according to a port official with the Vieste port in Italy. ANN Report December 10

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