Ernie Stephens Bio

Former Editor-in-chief, Rotor & Wing magazine
estephens@accessintel.com

Ernie Stephens got his first helicopter ride when he was six years old, and has been in love with rotary-wing flight ever since. Becoming a Prince George’s County police officer did nothing to diminish that love, so he earned a rotorcraft license and sought part-time employment flying helicopters. When he discovered that companies would not hire an inexperienced pilot who wished to remain a police sergeant, he incorporated Werewolf Aviation, and hired himself as pilot and CEO.

For the next few years, Ernie continued to service his aviation clients, while seeing to his police duties, which included tactical operations, electronic surveillance, investigations. By 1997, the Metropolitan Washington Area Council of Governments was beginning to worry about terrorist acts on home soil, and asked Ernie to use his knowledge of aviation and death investigations to develop a regional disaster recovery plan for mass injuries and fatalities. The assignment led to his education in counter-terrorism, disaster planning and certification as weapons of mass destruction instructor. The result was the Disaster Assistance Recovery Team, the Council’s official cadre of local, state and federal response personnel, some of whom would be pressed into service on September 11th, 2001.

In 2000, Ernie’s police department began its own helicopter unit, appointed him sergeant-in-charge and later to chief pilot. During his tenure in the Aviation Section, he was decorated three times for his actions as a pilot. It was also during this time that Ernie earned a bachelors degree in Management of Technical Operations, followed by a master’s degree in Aeronautical Science, both from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Ernie retired from the Prince George’s County Police Department in 2006. Stephens spent 27 years with the Prince George’s County (Md.) Police Department, retiring as a sergeant and chief pilot from the Aviation Section. He began his flying career in the late 1980s when he earned his rotorcraft license and incorporated a small aviation company as a sideline to his law enforcement career. His experience in flying and managing rotorcraft operations was put to use when his department decided to form a helicopter unit, appointing him the officer-in-charge and chief pilot until his retirement in 2006. Ernie holds a B.S. in Management of Technical Operations and an M.S. in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he is also a professor. He has been writing features, columns and aircraft evaluations for Rotor & Wing magazine since 2003, and was nominated for the Aerospace Journalist of the Year Award in 2008.