Master Mechanics Craig Emery and Tom Ratledge

On April 26, 2024, over 100 family and friends gathered at the Alaska Aviation Museum on Lake Hood in Anchorage, AK, to honor two aviation legends – Craig Emery and Tom Ratledge. Tom Palmer, FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) Program Manager, presented the Wright Brothers Master Pilot award to Craig and the Wright Brothers Master Pilot and the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic awards to Tom. These are the most prestigious awards issued by the FAA to pilots and mechanics.

The Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award is named in honor of Orville and Wilbur Wright who were two American aviation pioneers credited with inventing, building, and flying the world’s first successful motor-operated airplane. The Wright Brothers made the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft with the Wright Flyer on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

TThe Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award is named in honor of Mr. Charles Taylor, the first aviation mechanic in powered flight. The Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award recognizes the lifetime accomplishments of senior mechanics. Mr. Taylor served as the Wright brothers’ mechanic and is credited with designing and building the engine for their first successful aircraft.

Both awards recognize U. S. citizen aviators and aviation mechanics who have demonstrated at least 50 years of service in their fields and have not had any airmen certificates revoked.

Craig Emery and Tom Ratledge have joined a small group of award recipients. According to Mr. Palmer, only 8410 people in the entire country have earned the Wright Brothers Master Pilot award, and only 117 of them are in Alaska. Only 3471 people have earned the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic award, 139 of them in Alaska. And rarer still, only 1000 people nationwide have earned both. Tom is one of 20 in Alaska to have that distinction.

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