Jim MacKay
Civilian Pilot II
Maryland State Police Aviation Command

In January 2007, Jim retired from United States Air Force active duty following the completion of 27 years of service. A rated aviator in both the US Army and Air Force, he flew SAR, medevac, and Special Operations in the UH-1V and “N” model Huey and MH-53J/M Pave Low.

A graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, he has earned Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Aeronautical Science and now serves on the adjunct faculty, where he is certified to teach more than a dozen undergraduate and graduate courses. He holds an FAA Airline Transport Pilot certificate for Single and Multiengine Land and Sea, Rotorcraft, as well as a Commercial Pilot certificate for Glider, Lighter-Than-Air and Gyroplane and has logged 3,400 incident-free hours in more than 35 types of aircraft.

Since November 2007, he has served as a line pilot for the Maryland State Police Aviation Command and has been recognized with both the 2009 National Search and Rescue Association-sponsored Higgins and Langley Swiftwater Rescue award and Goodrich North American Rescue of the Year.

Speaker: Open-Water/Swift-Water SAR Operations, SAR Go/No-Go Decisions