The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has presented journalist Kerry Lynch with its Gold Wing Award for Journalism Excellence for her thorough historical reconstruction of the remarkable advocacy mobilization that won passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA), the 1994 law that provided much-needed liability protection to the general aviation industry.
Lynch wrote the article for Aviation International News (AIN), where she serves as editor. Headlined “Remembering GARA 30 Years Later: The Law that Changed the Trajectory of the Industry,” the article featured memories of four insiders, including NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen, all of whom shared behind-the-scenes details of the uphill battle to pass the landmark law.
“Kerry Lynch did a masterful job in recreating one of the most seminal moments in general aviation history,” said Bolen, who at the time was an aide to then-Sen. Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS), the chief architect of GARA. “Her story explains how industry stakeholders and members of both parties mobilized with a united voice to win passage of GARA.”
The story also includes memories from Russell W. Meyer, who led Cessna Aircraft for 32 years; then-Rep. Dan Glickman (D-4-KS), who would go on to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture; and Greg Principato, who led the National Commission to Ensure a Strong Competitive Airline Industry, which played an important role in passing GARA.
Lynch sets up their recollections by describing the dire state the general aviation industry faced by the mid 1980’s, noting that Cessna Aircraft had ceased piston-aircraft production; Piper Aircraft was headed toward bankruptcy; and that an industry that in 1979 delivered nearly 18,000 aircraft had dwindled to 1,300 deliveries by 1993.
“Simply put, manufacturers could no longer afford the long liability tail left by their 40-plus-year-old machines,” she wrote. “That was the backdrop for a nearly decade-long battle that culminated in the 1994 passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act, or GARA.”
Lynch was named editor of the Aviation International News monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with AIN for eight years. She joined AIN in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on AIN’s Convention News teams, including as editor of HAI Convention News.
Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the Aviation Week’s Show News staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for Business & Commercial Aviation and Overhaul & Maintenance monthly magazines.
In 2021, she was honored with NBAA’s Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003).
Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
