Kathleen "Kathy" Carol Fox (born 24 December 1951) is a Canadian

parachutist Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

air traffic controller An Air traffic controller (ATC) is a person responsible for the coordination of traffic in their assigned airspace. Typically stationed in area control centers or control towers, they monitor the position, speed, and altitude of aircraft and c ...

, and

business executive A business executive is a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. Executives run companies or government agencies. They create plans to help their organizations gr ...

. After spending over 30 years in air traffic control, she was appointed chair of the Canadian Transportation Safety Board in 2014. In 2016, she was inducted into

Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, based in The Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, commemorates and honours those whose accomplishments in aviation contributed so much to Canada's development as a nation. Founded in 1973, the Hall of ...

Early life and education

Fox was born on 24 December 1951 in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, and while still young showed an interest in flying. When she was only five, she used to pretend she was flying helicopters. She took her first flight when she was 13 in a

Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufactu ...

Cartierville Cartierville is a neighbourhood in the north end of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, located in the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville. Cartierville is bordered to the north by the Rivière des Prairies, to the south by the borough of Saint-Laurent, to th ...

, Quebec. Three years later, in 1967, an uncle paid for her first flying lesson at the Calgary Flying Club. But then she decided it was more important for her to study than to take flying lessons. As a result, she went on to study mathematics and science at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, later graduating as a Bachelor of Science. She later earned an MBA from McGill. While at university, in 1968 she took up

skydiving Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

. She practised the sport until 1980, becoming Chief Instructor for the McGill Skydiving Club and, when she was just 20, the first woman president of the Canadian Sport Parachuting Association. She organized teams for the 1979 competition in France and a 1980 competition in China. In 1981, she was awarded the

Paul Tissandier Diploma Paul Tissandier (19 February 1881 – 11 March 1945) was a French aviator. He was the treasurer of the ''Fédération Aéronautique Internationale'' (FAI) from its foundation (1905) to 1919, and its Secretary General from 1913 to 1945, and it aw ...

by the FAI for her services to parachuting.

Career

On graduating, Fox considered a military career but decided against it when it was suggested she could be a nurse or a dietician. She was also interested in becoming an astronaut but it turned out she was not sufficiently qualified. After teaching for a period at a private school, in 1974 she decided to follow in the footsteps of some of her friends who had joined

Transport Canada Transport Canada () is the Ministry (government department), department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, Policy, policies and Public services, services of road, rail, marine and air Transport in Canada, tra ...

, aspiring to become air traffic controllers. Fox qualified as a controller in 1976 but opted to train as a pilot, earning her private licence in

Sept-Îles, Quebec Sept-Îles (, , ) is a city in the Côte-Nord region of eastern Quebec. Along with Brador, Quebec, Brador and Blanc-Sablon, Sept-Îles is one of the oldest places in the province. The population was 24,569 as of the 2021 Canadian census. The ...

. After a spell at the control tower in

St-Hubert St-Hubert BBQ Ltd. is a chain of Canadian casual dining restaurants best known for its rotisserie chicken. St-Hubert is most popular in Quebec and in other French-Canadian areas such as Eastern Ontario and New Brunswick. The chain enjoys the s ...

, she decided to develop her flying career. She went on to obtain commercial and airline transport pilot licenses as well as instrument and instructor qualifications and has logged more than 5000 hours piloting aircraft. She then joined up with two other pilots and a mechanic to establish Dynamair Aviation near

St-Jean-sur-Richelieu Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu () is a city in eastern Montérégie in the Canadian province of Quebec, about southeast of Montreal, located roughly halfway between Montreal and the Canada–United States border with the state of Vermont. It is situa ...

, developing a flight school, charter facility and maintenance centre. In parallel, she continued gaining experience in air traffic control at

Dorval Dorval (; ) is an Greater Montreal, on-island suburban City (Quebec), city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has t ...

and

Montreal Area Control Centre Montreal Area Control Centre is one of 7 Area Control Centres in Canada operated by Nav Canada. Montreal ACC is located in a building on the outskirts of Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. From this ACC, air traffic contro ...

. After graduating with a master's degree in business administration from McGill University in 1986, Fox became acting ATC manager at St-Hubert in 1987. In 1989, Transport Canada assigned her to a managerial post in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. While there, in 1993, she served as a flight instructor and examiner at Ottawa's Rockcliffe Flying Club. In 1996, Fox joined

Nav Canada Nav Canada (styled as NAV CANADA) is a privately run, non-profit corporation that owns and operates Canada's civil air navigation system (ANS). It was established by statute in accordance with the ''Civil Air Navigation Services Commercializati ...

as safety and quality director. She later became vice-president of operations before retiring in 2007. She was immediately invited to join the

Transportation Safety Board of Canada The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB, ), officially the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board () is the agency of the Government of Canada responsible for advancing transportation safety in Canada. It is acc ...

(TSB), later becoming the board's chair. In August 2018, she was reappointed to serve as chair for a further five years.

Awards

In addition to her 2016 Canada Hall of Fame Award, Fox has received the Transport Canada Aviation Safety Award (1999) and was inducted into the Quebec Air and Space Hall of Fame in 2004. She has also received the Elsie MacGill Northern Lights Award (2010) and the David Charles Abramson Memorial Flight Instructor Safety Award (2011). In 2016 she was inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, and in 2018, she was inducted into the Women in Aviation Hall of Fame. She was presented with the Fédération aéronautique internationale Paul Tissandier Diploma and the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. There are four versions of the medal: one iss ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Kathleen 1951 births Living people Anglophone Quebec people People from Montreal Canadian women aviators Canadian skydivers Air traffic controllers McGill University Faculty of Science alumni Canadian women business executives McGill University Faculty of Management alumni Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame inductees Canadian flight instructors