Amy Wilder is a private pilot with more than two decades of experience as a writer and editor in a career spanning journalism, marketing, and communications. 
She has worked in aviation journalism since 2023, combining a lifelong passion for flight and a love of the aviation community with a penchant for storytelling. As a licensed pilot, she brings firsthand insight to the stories she covers, lending an authentic, on-the-ground perspective to industry coverage.
She holds a Master of Arts in Eastern Classics and a Master of Arts in Liberal Arts, both from St. John&#039;s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, along with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Culture.

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Amy Wilder

A passenger with no pilot certificate landed a Beechcraft King Air C90A safely at Meadows Field Airport (KBFL) in Bakersfield, California, after the 78-year-old pilot lost consciousness during a flight on Oct. 4, 2024, according to a newly released <a href="https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/195260/pdf">NTSB final report.</a> Guided by air traffic control, the passenger safely brought the turboprop twin to a straight-in landing following the pilot’s in-flight cardiac arrest. The pilot died from the medical event.
The airplane departed Las Vegas Henderson Executive Airport (KHND) on a Part 91 personal flight to California’s Monterey Regional Airport (KMRY), with the passenger and pilot aboard. At FL200, the pilot became unresponsive, and the passenger began CPR before radioing air traffic control, which provided navigation and operational guidance.
An autopsy performed by the Kern County Medical Examiner-Coroner attributed the pilot’s death to hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with a natural manner of death. Investigators found an enlarged heart weighing 620 grams, with all four chambers severely dilated; coronary artery disease narrowing three arteries by as much as 60%; and scarring consistent with a previous heart attack. The only traumatic injuries identified were rib and sternum fractures sustained during the passenger’s CPR efforts. The King Air was not damaged in the incident.

News about significant aircraft accidents and information from accident reports.

NTSB: Passenger Safely Lands King Air C90A after Pilot’s Cardiac Arrest

Pilot died of cardiac arrest during the flight

NTSB: A passenger with no pilot certificate landed a King Air C90A in 2024 after the pilot’s cardiac arrest; autopsy found severe coronary disease.

NTSB: Pax Safely Lands King Air after Pilot Collapsed

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

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News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

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News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

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News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

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