Paralyzed Pilot Sets Sights On Reno

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Steve Griff started flying 40 years ago, when he was 16, and kept at it till he was a 767 captain, flying international routes for US Airways. But four years ago, a truck smashed into his pickup in North Carolina, and he’s now paralyzed from the chest down. “Fortunately, my hands and arms work fine,” Griff told the Charlotte Observer last week. And that means he can still fly. Griff lives at Long Island Airpark, with his wife, Dina, and he has flown with friends to Florida, Guatemala and Mexico. Now he wants to fly in next year’s Reno National Championship Air Races. As far he knows, Griff will be the first paralyzed pilot to compete there. “I want to show people with injuries that the sky is no longer the limit,” he said. “What they want to do can be achieved.” Griff and friends now are working to raise money to sponsor the flight and to support groups researching cures for spinal-cord injury. For more information, contact Jeff Laffoon of RaceCorp Sports Management.

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