Title: Chief Pilot
Company: AT&T Alascom/ACS
Location: Tucson, Arizona, United States
Felix M. Maguire, Chief Pilot at AT&T Alascom, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Executives for dedication, achievements, and leadership in aviation and communications administration.
Hailing from Ireland, Mr. Maguire attended the Royal Air Force Training Academy at the London School of Navigation and obtained an FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) Airline Transport Pilot Certificate and a British Air Transport License. He then served as a flight lieutenant with the Royal Air Force from 1960 to 1977, with the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Diplomatic Exchange from Royal Air Force to USAF (United States Air Force) beginning in 1974 and then as chief pilot and instructor with 17th TAS, 616 Military Airlift Group, USAF at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage. Mr. Maguire then provided superior service as chief pilot with AT&T Alascom, now known as Alascom, Inc., a premier telecommunications company in Alaska, from 1980 to 1999 and also with airlines in Alaska, flying Boeing 737 and Convair 580 aircraft.
Mr. Maguire assisted in initiating the Capstone Program, a government-funded aviation safety program in Alaska that brought together many state-of-the-art technologies to cut the accident rate in the eastern part of Alaska by 47 percent and helped organize an international conference that led to the implementation of a similar program in Australia, Singapore and China. He negotiated with the United States Federal Aviation Administration (US-FAA) and the Russian SCAA (State Civil Aviation Authority) to design and open a VFR (visual flight rules) route for small general aviation aircraft between Nome, Alaska to Siberia in 2003 after observing how Alaskans had been unable to visit their cousins across the Bering Sea since 1948.
Mr. Maguire’s many honors during his career in aviation include the Robert J. Collier Trophy for Outstanding Contributions to Aeronautics and Astronautics (awarded to Team ADS/B), National Aeronautic Association in 2008, the Sharp List Perpetual Award, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) in 2006, the Forrest M. and Pamela Bird Award (for helping establish the Capstone Program), from the Civil Aviation Medical Association in 2004. In addition, he has captured the Visionary Award from the Alaskan Regional FAA; National FEC (Federal Executive Council) Award from the United States Government Executive Council; and Top Cadet, Cup of Honor, Leadership Trophy from the Royal Air Force Training Academy, United Kingdom.
In addition to excelling as an airplane pilot, Mr. Maguire has served his community as an archdiocesan producer of Christmas Midnight Mass live broadcast from the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, religious education and choir director/organist at Elmendorf Air Force Base and president of the Anchorage Youth Symphony. He is an ordained deacon in the Catholic Church, serving at Palmer, Wasilla, St. Benedict’s, and Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage.
A large part of Mr. Maguire’s motivation has been his desire to give back as much as he can to the United States, after he and his family have experienced great benefits, both personally and professionally, since they moved to the United States. He has likewise been compelled by his natural inclination to serve others, providing care that extends to their well-being through his capacity as a deacon for the Catholic Church.
As a career highlight, Mr. Maguire cites helping to establish an aviation department with Alascom that flew technicians to villages where they installed outstations for the satellite systems that facilitated swift communications. He notes that when social commentator, Will Rogers, and famed aviator, Wiley Post, were killed in a plane crash near Point Barrow, Alaska, in 1935, it took one month for the news to reach Seattle. Among the most important doors opened by the company at the time involved facilitating communication between villages, the local hub and Anchorage hospital, which greatly sped up the decision-making process for providing medical care within the region. Now in his eighties, Mr. Maguire intends to continue enjoying his well-deserved retirement in the coming years.
Contact Mr. Maguire:
