Gregory Allen Feith is an American former Senior Air Safety Investigator with the

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...

(NTSB). He currently works as a consultant on aviation safety and security matters in the private sector, and as the aviation expert for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

and

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politic ...

. He also serves as the technical advisor in a number of television programs such as ''

Mayday Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organi ...

'' (also known as ''Air Disasters'' in the United States and ''Air Crash Investigation'' in other parts of the world), '' Seconds From Disaster'', and ''

Why Planes Crash ''Why Planes Crash'' was an aviation documentary TV mini-series based on aircraft accidents and crashes. The series was created and named by producer Caroline Sommers, on behalf of NBC Peacock Productions. The series premiere on July 12, 2009, f ...

'' while maintaining a busy speaking schedule.

Career

Feith earned his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in Aeronautical Studies from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he currently remains on faculty. Early in his career, Feith was the U.S. Accredited Representative and Team Leader of six American investigators who climbed Mt. Illimani to an elevation of 20,098 feet MSL in 1985, to conduct the on-scene wreckage examination of

Eastern Air Lines Flight 980 Eastern Air Lines Flight 980 was a scheduled international flight from Asunción, Paraguay, to Miami, Florida, United States. On January 1, 1985, while descending towards La Paz, Bolivia, for a scheduled stopover, the Boeing 727 jetliner struck ...

, a

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airp ...

. This is the highest accident site in commercial aviation history. He was the Investigator in Charge of the NTSB "Go-Team" from 1993 to 2001. In 2014 Feith was inducted as a member of the

Living Legends of Aviation The Living Legends of Aviation is an award honoring achievements in the aerospace industry, bestowed by the 130 current title holders and owned and produced by the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy, a non-profit 501(c)(3). The Living Legends have all mad ...

. Feith is a pilot himself, and owns and flies his

Piper PA-24 Comanche The Piper PA-24 Comanche is an American four-seat or six-seat, low-wing, all-metal, light aircraft of semimonocoque construction with tricycle Landing gear, retractable landing gear. Piper Aircraft designed and developed the Comanche, which fir ...

. He has a

vehicle registration plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificati ...

of "CRASH1".

Media

Feith has appeared on several

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

series, such as the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Documentary series ''

'' (also known as ''Air Disasters'' in the United States and ''Air Crash Investigation'' in other parts of the world), '' Survival in the Sky'', '' Seconds from Disaster'' and ''

.'' He hosted his own short-lived series ''Secrets of the Black Box'' on the

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Dis ...

, highlighting the major investigations that he led, along with the controversial and conspiracy theory-riddled KAL007 investigation. He appeared in a made-for-TV movie '' Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501'' as the co-pilot of the ill-fated

DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...

. He is well known for his frequent public speaking engagements at

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compul ...

, aviation groups and

trade associations A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...

. In his spare time, he hosts ''Hangar Flying Today'', a radio program in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, near where he currently resides. Feith contributes articles to ''Business & Commercial Aviation'' magazine, including “Avoiding The Beast Below,” September 2002. He appears regularly as a guest aviation safety and security expert on

KUSA-TV KUSA (channel 9) is a television station in Denver, Colorado, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KTVD (channel 20). Both stations share studios on East Speer Boulevard in Denver's Sp ...

, while maintaining a busy speaking schedule with The Aviation Speakers Bureau. As of 2020, he hosts, along with former NTSB member John Goglia, the ''Flight Safety Detectives'' podcast.

Notable investigations

Aloha Airlines Flight 243 Aloha Airlines Flight 243 (IATA: AQ243, ICAO: AAH243) was a scheduled Aloha Airlines flight between Hilo and Honolulu in Hawaii. On April 28, 1988, a Boeing 737-297 serving the flight suffered extensive damage after an explosive decompressio ...

American Airlines Flight 1420 American Airlines Flight 1420 was a flight from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Little Rock National Airport in the United States. On June 1, 1999, the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 operating as Flight 1420 overran the runway upon ...

American Eagle Flight 4184 American Eagle Flight 4184, officially operating as Simmons Airlines Flight 4184, was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Indianapolis, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois, United States. On , 1994, the performing this route flew into severe ...

British Airways Flight 9 British Airways Flight 009, sometimes referred to by its callsign Speedbird 9 or as the Jakarta incident, was a scheduled British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Auckland, with stops in Bombay, Kuala Lumpur, Perth, and Melbourne. On 24 ...

Korean Air Flight 801 Korean Air Flight 801 (KE801, KAL801) was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Korean Air. The flight crashed on August 6, 1997, on approach to Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, in the United States territory of Guam, k ...

SilkAir Flight 185 SilkAir Flight 185 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by a Boeing 737-300 from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia to Changi Airport in Singapore that crashed into the Musi River near Palembang, S ...

* Swissair Flight 111 *

USAir Flight 1016 USAir Flight 1016 was a regularly scheduled flight in the southeastern United States, between Columbia, South Carolina, and Charlotte, North Carolina. On July 2, 1994, the flight encountered heavy thunderstorms and microburst-induced wind ...

ValuJet Flight 592 ValuJet Airlines Flight 592 was a regularly scheduled flight from Miami International Airport to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. On May 11, 1996, the ValuJet Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-9 operating the route crashed into ...

Emery Worldwide Flight 17 Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17 was a regularly scheduled domestic cargo flight, flying from Reno to Dayton with an intermediate stopover at Rancho Cordova. On February 16, 2000, the DC-8 crashed onto an automobile salvage yard shortly aft ...

* American International Airways Flight 808

Awards

* 1996: Laurel Award from

Aviation Week and Space Technology ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aerospace, defense and aviatio ...

Magazine for "Outstanding Operations" for leadership during the conduct of the

investigation in the

Florida Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimm ...

* 2001: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Distinguished Alumni Award * 2003: SAFE Association, Michael R. Grost Award * 2016: Inducted as a Living Legend of Aviation at the 13th Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards.

Personal

Feith is married to Kim Christensen, anchor of Channel 9News, Denver, and a former

Miss Colorado The Miss Colorado competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Colorado in the Miss America pageant. Colorado has won the Miss America crown on three occasions. Savannah Cavanaugh of Beaver Creek, Colorado was ...

. They have a son, Tanner. Feith had a white dog, named Sky King, taken by a neighbor allegedly demanding a $10,000 ransom for its return. The

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

ran a story highlighting air crash investigators for their telegenic appearances and heroic roles in pursuit of the "noble mission: solving crashes to save lives by preventing future accidents", giving personal attention to Greg Feith, recounting how, during his investigations into the Valujet crash in the Everglades, he was given the nickname "Mud Stud" and profiled in news stories. The articles written about him noted his Cadillac with the license plate CRASH1, fan mail from female admirers, and that he was single, with the caveat that he was married. Feith is a donor to organizations including Shades of Blue, a nonprofit giving underprivileged children the chance to experience flight and AOPA, and develops safety products, among them LapKidz for inflight child seat restraints and drowning accident prevention of children in bathtubs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feith, Greg 1957 births Living people Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University alumni Aviation analysts National Transportation Safety Board personnel Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University faculty