GA Booster Sen. Jim Inhofe Dies

A sometimes controversial but always unwavering supporter of general aviation, former Sen. Jim Inhofe died early Tuesday at the age of 89. His family said in a statement that he became ill over the holiday weekend and died surrounded by family just before 5 a.m. They told the New York Times he'd died of a stroke. He served 20 years in the Senate and sponsored many bills that involved supporting GA, including the Pilot's Bill of Rights that solidified the individual rights of pilots within the regulatory framework.

Inhofe was also an experienced pilot who had his brushes with the authorities his bill was intended to tame. He was sanctioned by the FAA for landing on a closed runway that was under construction and had workers on it. He also made several rough landings, the latest at the age of 81 when he went off the runway in his Harmon Rocket in Ketchum, Oklahoma, in 2016.

But Inhofe also cut a big swath through the aviation community by making GA a pet project in his dealings at the Capitol, and that endeared him to virtually all aviation-related organizations. “Sen. Inhofe was a master legislator and general aviation’s great champion,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “His Discharge Petition, General Aviation Revitalization Act, Pilots Bill of Rights, Basic Med and numerous FAA Reauthorization bills that have protected general aviation’s access to airspace and airports represent just a fraction of what Jim Inhofe has done to promote aviation,” Bolen added. “There is no one who has done more to help the United States have the largest, safest, most diverse and most efficient aviation system in the world. We will miss him greatly.”  

“Jim Inhofe had a remarkable, positive influence on the growth and preservation of general aviation as a member of Congress,” said EAA Chairman Jack Pelton. “His passion for aviation, as well as his in-depth knowledge on the workings of Congress, provided countless results that benefited those of us who fly. EAA awarded Jim our highest honor, the Freedom of Flight Award, in 2022, to recognize those accomplishments. He leaves a tremendous legacy, and we offer condolences to his family.”

Inhofe made lots of news outside of aviation and was best known on the Hill for his proud and vehement denial of human-caused climate change. He was also known as Washington's "most conservative politician" because of his strident and vocal opposition to "abortion, L.G.B.T.Q. rights, health care legislation and campaign-finance reforms while supporting the death penalty, gun rights, counterterrorism powers, offshore oil drilling and constitutional amendments to require balanced budgets and ban flag desecration," according to the New York Times.