Captain William “Bill” McNease – VP & Director of Flight Operations

Bill’s illustrious career includes flying 173 combat missions for the US Army during the Vietnam conflict, and was awarded the Bronze Star and 13 Air Medals during those combat missions in SE Asia. Bill also has amassed almost 19,000 hours flying experience, with over 15,000 hours as Pilot in Command. He has 27 type ratings and has flown more than 143 types of airplanes, balloons, blimps and helicopters.

Bill has held numerous leadership positions in many commercial and charter airlines. These include Director of Operations, Director Safety and Security, Director of Compliance, and Vice President of Flight Operations.

Bill has also worked at the FAA as an Air Carrier Inspector, General Aviation Inspector, Flight Inspection Pilot and Air Traffic Controller.

In addition to being certified in the US, Bill has also received transport pilot certifications from Costa Rica, Hungary, Italy, Indonesia, Malawi, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland.

Bill was also the recipient of the Admiral Luis de Florez Flight Safety Award from the Flight Safety Foundation for outstanding individual contributions to aviation safety, through basic design, device or practice and the Dr. Tony Kern Professionalism in Aviation Award from the NBAA and a NBAA Certified Aviation Manager (CAM).

Bill has a BA degree from Louisiana Tech University in Professional Aviation with a minor in Business Administration. Bill also has a MA degree in Aviation Management & Commercial Airlines from Delta State University in Cleveland Mississippi.