Blackhawk pilot disabled in accident returns to flight

Able Flight has selected Chief Warrant Officer Anthony Radetic, US Army (retired), as the 2018 recipient of the Lockheed Martin/Able Flight Scholarship.

Founded as a non-profit organization in 2006, Able Flight provides flight training and aviation career training scholarships for people with a variety of physical disabilities, including wounded and disabled veterans.

“Lockheed Martin is honored by the trust our armed forces place in us to enable their missions around the world,” said Michele Evans, executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. “Our goal with the Fighting Spirit Scholarship Program is to support our heroes as they navigate new lives a little closer to home.”

Radetic, who was paralyzed in a motor vehicle accident in 2004 while in training in Alabama, will attend Able Flight’s six-week flight school, where he will train in an adapted airplane. Then along with his classmates, he’ll receive his wings during a presentation at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow in July 2019.

“Aviation has been my passion since childhood,” said Radetic. “Following my injury, I have been seeking a way to return to aviation in a flying role. This scholarship is the first step in my journey, giving me a second chance to pilot and be behind the controls of an aircraft once again.”