Pilot flying high on top honors from the FAA
One longtime Doylestown resident’s aviation achievement has him flying high and encouraging others to do the same.
Richard Becker, 73, recently received the Federal Aviation Administration’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, recognizing those who have demonstrated professionalism, skill and aviation expertise by maintaining safe flights for 50 or more consecutive years.
Becker, an American Airlines commercial pilot for 30 years, has logged more than 25,000 hours in his 54 years of flying.
Now a Columbia, N.J. resident, Becker returned to the Doylestown Airport Sept. 19 to receive his award at a Doylestown Pilot Association breakfast seminar.
“I am thrilled to receive one of the aviation industry’s highest honors [and] I appreciate that the award recognizes both my personal and professional flying record,” said Becker. “Not everyone makes it to 50 years of flying. Some people don’t start until their 40s; I was lucky I started so young.”
There are only 1,446 total recipients of the Master Pilot Award, according to www.faasafety.gov. Each recipient is given a certificate, lapel pin and a “Roll of Honor” listing on the site.
Fellow professionals praised the career pilot.
“Richard sets an example for all of us to follow — that flying can be 100 percent safe given good planning, sound judgment and attention to detail,” said Allen Black, chairman of the Bucks County Airport Authority. “We salute Richard on this well-deserved award.”
This is Becker’s second FAA honor; in 1993, he noticed the landing gear on an arriving plane was not lowered and notified the control tower.
“The plane scraped the runway with the belly of the airplane, but went out flew around and came back safely,” he said. “Everyone walked off the airplane.”
Preventing the catastrophe gained him national recognition, but Becker says it was all in the line of duty.
“They tried to call me a hero for that, but you need to put your life on the line or have your life in danger to be called a hero,” he said. “I didn’t do that. I just made a call. It was what I was supposed to do.”
Otherwise, Becker hasn’t encountered any major hazardous situations.
“There are little things that come up — sick or unruly passengers — but no big traumatic accidents really; I’ve never been hijacked or had to land a plane in the Hudson,” he said. “Put in the situation, though, we are trained to do what we have to do to keep everything running. It comes along with the job.”
Becker, who retired from American Airlines in 1995, says he still flies recreationally once or twice a week, depending on the weather.
His high hopes of becoming a pilot began at an early age.
“I had a desire to fly since I was 4 years old and noticed planes in the sky,” said the Philadelphia native.
Becker started flying when he graduated high school. He earned his private pilot’s license after training nine months of training at the former Buehl Field in Bensalem.
Throughout the next 10 years, the pilot attended aircraft mechanic school and worked out of local airports before landing his long-term gig at American Airlines.
Becker believes his accomplishment can help inspire the next generation.
“If you know any young people — and not just looking to be pilots, but lawyers, doctors, etc. — tell them they can accomplish whatever they set their sights on,” he said. “I was focused on this my entire life and it came true.”
Richard Becker, 73, recently received the Federal Aviation Administration’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, recognizing those who have demonstrated professionalism, skill and aviation expertise by maintaining safe flights for 50 or more consecutive years.
Becker, an American Airlines commercial pilot for 30 years, has logged more than 25,000 hours in his 54 years of flying.
Now a Columbia, N.J. resident, Becker returned to the Doylestown Airport Sept. 19 to receive his award at a Doylestown Pilot Association breakfast seminar.
“I am thrilled to receive one of the aviation industry’s highest honors [and] I appreciate that the award recognizes both my personal and professional flying record,” said Becker. “Not everyone makes it to 50 years of flying. Some people don’t start until their 40s; I was lucky I started so young.”
There are only 1,446 total recipients of the Master Pilot Award, according to www.faasafety.gov. Each recipient is given a certificate, lapel pin and a “Roll of Honor” listing on the site.
Fellow professionals praised the career pilot.
“Richard sets an example for all of us to follow — that flying can be 100 percent safe given good planning, sound judgment and attention to detail,” said Allen Black, chairman of the Bucks County Airport Authority. “We salute Richard on this well-deserved award.”
This is Becker’s second FAA honor; in 1993, he noticed the landing gear on an arriving plane was not lowered and notified the control tower.
“The plane scraped the runway with the belly of the airplane, but went out flew around and came back safely,” he said. “Everyone walked off the airplane.”
Preventing the catastrophe gained him national recognition, but Becker says it was all in the line of duty.
“They tried to call me a hero for that, but you need to put your life on the line or have your life in danger to be called a hero,” he said. “I didn’t do that. I just made a call. It was what I was supposed to do.”
Otherwise, Becker hasn’t encountered any major hazardous situations.
“There are little things that come up — sick or unruly passengers — but no big traumatic accidents really; I’ve never been hijacked or had to land a plane in the Hudson,” he said. “Put in the situation, though, we are trained to do what we have to do to keep everything running. It comes along with the job.”
Becker, who retired from American Airlines in 1995, says he still flies recreationally once or twice a week, depending on the weather.
His high hopes of becoming a pilot began at an early age.
“I had a desire to fly since I was 4 years old and noticed planes in the sky,” said the Philadelphia native.
Becker started flying when he graduated high school. He earned his private pilot’s license after training nine months of training at the former Buehl Field in Bensalem.
Throughout the next 10 years, the pilot attended aircraft mechanic school and worked out of local airports before landing his long-term gig at American Airlines.
Becker believes his accomplishment can help inspire the next generation.
“If you know any young people — and not just looking to be pilots, but lawyers, doctors, etc. — tell them they can accomplish whatever they set their sights on,” he said. “I was focused on this my entire life and it came true.”
