A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

Given Colorado’s Aspen-Pitkin County Airport’s (KASE) reputation as an operationally challenging airport, the county board of commissioners last week approved the establishment of a flight operations safety task force. The Aspen/Pitkin County Vision Committee recommended to the commission the establishment of an advisory group&nbsp;composed&nbsp;of 12 local pilots with&nbsp;familiarity of the airport to maximize safety and reduce aviation accidents.
Over the past several decades, KASE has experienced dozens of general aviation aircraft accidents in its vicinity&nbsp;due to factors such as its altitude, surrounding mountainous terrain, weather, and a sloping runway.
This past year alone, the airport was closed on four separate occasions after GA aircraft accidents that, while causing no serious injuries or fatalities, led to hundreds of thousands of dollars in airport property damage. On February 21, a Hawker 800XP overran the runway during an aborted takeoff, seriously damaging the aircraft and causing a fuel spill. This&nbsp;accident also&nbsp;closed the airport for nine hours.
Among the group of seasoned aviators&nbsp;whose attention will focus primarily on general aviation safety&nbsp;are FlightAware founder Daniel Baker, ForeFlight founder and commercial pilot Tyson Weihs, Mayo Aviation pilot William Landis, and retired commercial pilot Brett Detwiler.
The task force will formulate recommendations for consideration by the airport advisory board and the county board of commissioners, as well as liaise with various aviation organizations.

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

Colorado's Aspen-Pitkin Airport Establishes General Aviation Safety Task Force

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