Meet the legendary Capt. John Cox

Today, I'm pinching myself as I get to interview the legendary Captain John Cox! He is a veteran major airline, corporate and general aviation pilot, who has flown over 14,000 hours with over 10,000 in command of jet airliners. Additionally, Captain Cox has flown as an instructor, check pilot, and test pilot and is an expert in global aviation safety. He regularly appears in interviews on TV and has won numerous awards and distinctions throughout his career.

It's truly an honor to be able to ask Captain Cox some questions about his career and listen to his advice for young aviation enthusiasts.

Captain Cox, first of all thank you SO MUCH for taking time out of your busy schedule to do this interview. You are a very well-known expert in aviation safety and former airline captain. Could you please tell the audience a little bit about your career path and what motivated you to get into this field?

I learned to fly very young. I soloed at 16, had a commercial, multi-engine instrument by age 18 and was hired onto a Beechcraft KingAir when I was 19 years old. This was for a subsidiary of a Fortune 500 company. I was very, very fortunate.

After four years there I move to a single KingAir operator for 18 months, then to a Gulfstream I. That was a turning point as I was then flying large aircraft. At age 26 I was hired by Piedmont Airlines, in Winston Salem NC as a First Officer on a YS-11. (Most people have never heard of that airplane!) Just short of two years later I moved to the B737 as a FO. Piedmont bought 20 F-28s from Fokker in the summer of 1983 and I was asked to be part of the fleet introduction team. I never dreamed I would be an airline captain at age 29.

Three years as an instructor, test pilot and simulator instructor was a wonderful experience. In January of 1986, I moved to the B737 as a captain where I remained until 1999 when I moved to the Airbus A320 until my retirement in 2005.

I was asked to join the Air Line Pilots Association's (ALPA) Air Safety Committee soon after going on the 737 as a captain. I remained a part of the ALPA safety structure until my retirement.

I was ALPA’s 737 technical specialist, worked seven major accidents, became the Central Safety Chairman for ALPA at US Air, and finally Executive Air Safety Chairman for all of ALPA in North America.

In 2005 I retired from US Airways, due to the extreme financial uncertainty that they were experiencing. A group in New York then asked me to come run a start up aviation safety consulting firm: Safety Operating Systems. I have been with them since then.

The consulting world is vastly different from the airline industry, but is important as you can help mold the industry and keep the focus on safety. In that role my visibility in the media increased significantly. I became the NBC aviation analyst and a regular commentator on “Air Disasters/Mayday”.

In 2008 I went back to school for a Masters in Business Administration which I received in 2010, and taught briefly for Daniel Webster College in that program. Since 2007 I have been an instructor at the University of Southern California in their aviation program.

While many of my colleagues have retired, I have not. I think there is more to do and I want to be a part of making aviation safer and better for the incoming men and women. Our passengers expect us to get better while getting safer. That have been my goal since 1970, and remains so today.

You have had such an impressive career path. I have so many questions that I don't even know where to start! You were an airline captain for 25 years. What made you move into the field of aviation safety after that?

A friend of mine was involved in an accident in 1986. Following him through the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) process interested me. ALPA realized my interest and sent me to Basic Safety School. I stayed part of the ALPA safety structure until I retired.

Could you tell us more about what your current work entails?

I work with operator, regulators, media, legal and industries outside of aviation to enhance safety. While the airlines have significantly improved safety, general aviation (including corporate) has not had the same level of success. I work with many companies to help them uphold the highest level of safety.

In recent years I have been asked to help some public utilities implement aviation-style safety management systems into their operations. This is a huge undertaking but very rewarding.

I also do some legal expert work, helping lawyers and their clients understand how aviation works.

What do you like most about your job?

Helping make aviation better, is extremely rewarding. I have been doing that for over 50 years and enjoy it as much today as I did as a teenager.

You studied Aviation Safety at the University of Southern California. How useful or important has that been for your career as a captain?

Understanding what has caused accidents in the past can help prevent ones in the future.

Managing safety in something as complex as aviation is challenging, it is down right hard, but very worth it.

As an ALPA safety representative I always felt as I had to be an example for other pilots in procedural compliance, good airmanship, conservative decision-making and knowledge. That made me a better aviator.

What skills and knowledge have been most important for your career in aviation?

It is not good enough just to pass a test or checkride. Too much depends on aviators for just passing to be the goal. You have to do more, much more, you have to learn as much as you can, do the best you can, and gain those skills and that knowledge and apply it wisely. We work in an unforgiving environment. To safely move the aircraft from one place to another we have to be ahead of the challenges, have contingency plans, and possess the airmanship to deal with the unforeseen.

Yes, I understand that. Even just as a beginning flight student, I can feel that weight of responsibility when I fly. What advice would you give young students who would like to follow your career example?

Study hard, and do more than you have to. Fly every chance you get. Be conservative, if it feels wrong, it probably is. Don’t let someone talk you into a place you are not comfortable!

Entry level positions are tough, but the investment is worth it. It is the greatest profession in the world.

Thank you. That is such great advice! In hindsight, if you could do anything differently, what would it be?

That is a hard question: I have been so fortunate and enjoyed my career so much that I would be reluctant to change very much. I probably would have bid onto the 757/767 in hindsight. I missed flying those two airplanes and I would have liked to.

The other thing I would have done earlier was go to Graduate School. That was a wonderful experience and helped me more than I thought it would in business.

What special memory comes to mind from your career journey?

There are many memories, flying up and down the Atlantic coast in the fall on crystal clear days seeing the leaves change from week to week. Seeing gigantic thunderstorms in the Midwest (and being glad we were not near them). The satisfaction of a hand-flown approach to minimums in near-blizzard conditions. The look on a child’s face when they see a parent that you have brought safely home.

It really does sound like the greatest profession in the world! Do you have any final words for young students who are thinking about a career in aviation?

For those of you who see the sky, with a jet contrailing along and think I want to be there….do it! The road is hard, the hours are long, the time away from home is massive…but do it. The rewards are great, and you will be a part of a small number of people that defy gravity for a living.

I love that! Thank you so much Captain Cox. This has been really inspiring and I will certainly take your advice to heart. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it.