AOPA Mourns the Passing of Russ Meyer

AOPA Acting Co-Presidents Katie Pribyl and Jill Baker said: “In his nearly three decades at Cessna, Russ’s work touched every corner of the general aviation community—from bringing the iconic Cessna 172 back into production, to co-founding the ‘Be A Pilot’ program with AOPA to reverse a decades-long decline in new pilots, to effectively saving the entire industry in the 1990s when product liability costs threatened GA as we know it. His fingerprints are on everything we cherish about flying today.

“Russ embodied what it means to be a pilot. With more than 17,000 hours of flight time in more than 50 aircraft types, he never lost his passion for flying. In 2024, AOPA was proud to honor him with the R.A. ‘Bob’ Hoover Award in recognition of his enduring commitment to aviation. His influence and vision will continue to live on across general aviation—in the aircraft we fly, those he inspired to become pilots, and the thriving industry that he refused to let fail.”