Richard Gibson McSpadden (1960 – October 1, 2023) was an American educator and pilot. He became the

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is a Frederick, Maryland-based American non-profit political organization that advocates for general aviation. AOPA's membership consists mainly of general aviation pilots in the United States ...

(AOPA) Air Safety Institute (ASI) senior vice-president in 2020, having previously been its executive director from 2017.

Early life

Richard Gibson McSpadden was born in

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Route 98 in Florida, U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee and Pensacola, Florida, Pe ...

, to Ann and Richard McSpadden, one of their four children. McSpadden began flying in his teenage years, inspired by his pilot father, and was based out of Air Harbor Airport in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

. The pursuit turned into a career of over 5,000 flying hours. He taught his son to fly and instructed his daughter to fly solo in the family's

Piper Super Cub The Piper PA-18 Super Cub is a two-seat, single-engine monoplane. Introduced in 1949 by Piper Aircraft, it was developed from the PA-11 Cub Special, and traces its lineage back through the J-3 Cub to the Taylor E-2 Cub of the 1930s. In close ...

. He graduated with a degree in economics from the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

and from

Troy University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. It was one ...

with a master's degree in Public Administration. He also graduated from the U.S. Air Force

Air War College The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University (United States Air Force), Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, ...

Career

McSpadden served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

for twenty years, achieving the role of commander and flight leader of its Thunderbirds demonstration team. He became a commercial pilot and

certified 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 ...

, with multi-engine land, single-engine seaplane and multi-engine seaplane ratings while also working in

information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

. In 2017, he became executive director of the AOPA's ASI. He was promoted to senior vice-president three years later. He also served as the chairman of the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee. He produced aviation safety material for ASI's

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel and website.

Personal life

McSpadden was married for 31 years to Judy, with whom he had two children.

Death

On October 1, 2023, McSpadden was killed in an aircraft accident in

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205. The village of Lake Placid ...

. He was 63. He and former American football player

Russ Francis Russell Ross Francis (April 3, 1953 – October 1, 2023) was an American professional football player who was a tight end for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers. He w ...

were flying a

Cessna 177 The Cessna 177 Cardinal is a light single-engine, high-wing general aviation aircraft produced by Cessna. It was intended to replace the Cessna 172 Skyhawk. First announced in 1967, it was produced from 1968 to 1978.Christy, Joe: ''The Comple ...

out of Lake Placid Airport when the aircraft's engine failed. They attempted to return to the airport but crashed into a ravine near it. Both McSpadden and Francis were killed. In November 2023, AOPA renamed its annual Air Safety Institute Accident Report from Joseph T. Nall Report to Richard G. McSpadden Report to honor his dedication in improving aviation safety.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McSpadden, Richard 1960 births Date of birth missing 2023 deaths Air War College alumni American aviators American educators Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States People from Panama City, Florida Troy University alumni University of Georgia alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2023 Accidental deaths in New York (state) United States Air Force Thunderbirds pilots