NBAA is marking the loss of industry icon Russ Meyer, who passed away in his adopted hometown of Wichita, Kansas, after a brief illness, surrounded by his wife, Helen, and family.

“There is simply no one who has had a more positive and profound impact on general and business aviation than Russ Meyer,” says NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “The planes he introduced, the monumental laws and regulations he shaped, the culture he created and nurtured, not just for the company he led for decades, but for the entire industry, is a tribute to his leadership, determination, grace, integrity and compassion. We will miss him, and we wish him Godspeed.”

Meyer was hired at Cessna, which is now part of Textron Aviation, in 1974, as an executive vice president. He was elected CEO one year later and went on to serve as the company's chairman over three decades, before retiring in 2003.

At Cessna, Meyer oversaw the introduction and expansion of the Citation line of owner-flown business aircraft. More than 8,000 Citation jets have been sold over the past 50 years.

Meyer served three terms as chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), where he spearheaded an industrywide effort to secure congressional passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994, which overhauled aviation product liability laws, drove a rebound in general aviation aircraft production and generated countless jobs.

“It was Russ Meyer's promise that Cessna would return to manufacturing piston-engine aircraft that led to the passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act,” Bolen notes. “Russ fulfilled that promise immediately after standing in the Oval Office and watching President Clinton sign the bill into law.”

Meyer's accomplishments on behalf of aviation began with his work to establish the Airport and Airway Trust Fund in 1970. He also helped ensure that general aviation received reasonable fuel allocations during that decade's fuel crises and was instrumental in keeping the national air traffic system moving during the 1981 controllers' strike.

In 2008, when automobile manufacturers were called into question for flying to Washington on business aircraft to ask for a federal bailout, prompting a public image crisis for the industry, Meyer helped recruit golf and business legend Arnold Palmer, aerospace hero Neil Armstrong and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett to the industry campaign that set the record straight on business aviation.

Meyer enjoyed a particularly close relationship with Palmer. In his autobiography, ‘A Golfer's Life’, Palmer wrote that you that you can often judge a person by the company he keeps. Palmer named four individuals whose company he kept, and Meyer was the first person he mentioned.

NBAA paid tribute to Meyer in 1995 with its highest honour, the Meritorious Service to Aviation Award, in recognition of his lifetime of significant identifiable contributions that have materially advanced aviation interests.

Also in 1995, the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) honoured Meyer with the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to an individual for “significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States.” Under his leadership, Cessna was recognised by the NAA with two Robert J. Collier Trophies, one for the safety record of Citation jets and another for the Citation X, which was then the world's fastest business jet.

Meyer was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2014, he was honoured with the Wichita Aero Club Trophy for his nearly 50-year legacy of championing the industry's interests. In 2024, he received the R.A. ‘Bob’ Hoover Award from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

In 1987, Meyer launched the first Citation Special Olympics Airlift, in South Bend, Indiana. Today, the programme has expanded to become the largest peacetime civil aircraft operation in the nation's history in which hundreds of Citation pilots and owners transport athletes to the national Special Olympics USA Games.

“It is a fitting tribute to Russ that, this summer, Textron will once again host the Special Olympics Airlift, an initiative that brings joy to athletes, coaches, aircraft owners and pilots, and volunteers,” Bolen concludes.

Textron has also paid tribute. “Russ was a remarkable human being and one of the most respected leaders I have ever known. I held Russ in the highest regard, not only for his extraordinary business acumen, but for the integrity, humility and genuine care he showed for people at every stage of his life. He led with conviction, compassion and an unwavering belief that leadership carries a responsibility to serve something greater than oneself,” says Ron Draper, president and CEO, Textron Aviation. “On behalf of the entire Textron Aviation team, I extend my deepest condolences to Russ's family, friends and all who had the privilege of knowing and working with him. I was truly privileged to know Russ as a colleague, a mentor and a friend.”