Welcome to SETP
Introduction
The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design and development; interchanging ideas, thoughts and suggestions of the members, assisting in the professional development of experimental pilots, and providing scholarships and aid to members and the families of deceased members.
July 2026, President Message
Dear Fellow Members,
As we reach the midpoint of the summer, I want to take a moment to reflect on where we stand as a Society—acknowledging our deepest shared grief, celebrating our historic milestones, and looking critically at how we can better serve you, our membership.
Honoring Our Fallen and Supporting Our Community
First and most heavily on our hearts, the flight test community is mourning the tragic B-52 accident. We lost eight of our brave comrades, including two cherished members of our own Society.
In the wake of this immense tragedy, I want to extend my profound gratitude to all of our Critical Incident Response Program (CIRP) and family support volunteers. From day one, you have been on the ground, ready and providing unwavering support to the families and colleagues affected by this loss.
This is the exact area where the Society of Experimental Test Pilots stands apart from other organizations. We share a deep, fundamental understanding of the inherent risks and the true cost of our profession. We know the weight it places on our families and friends, and true to our character, our members never hesitate to step up and help one another during the most trying times. Honoring their legacy also means continuing the critical, everyday work of our profession—a dedication clearly reflected in our recent gatherings.
Section Symposia Success and the Road to Anaheim
This year’s section symposia have been outstanding. Attendance was incredibly high, marked by exceptional technical papers and fantastic student participation. The continued, open sharing of lessons learned in these venues remains one of the absolute pillars of our Society. Thank you and congratulations to all our symposium chairmen for their flawless execution.
I am highly anticipating my upcoming trip to the European Symposium in Edinburgh, Scotland, and I look forward to seeing many of you there. Meanwhile, Andy Edgell (AF) and his team remain hard at work planning our annual—and landmark 70th Anniversary—Symposium in Anaheim, California. It promises to be an unforgettable event.
Celebrating Artemis and Looking to the Future of Spaceflight
We also recently celebrated humanity's triumphant return to the moon with the spectacular mission of Artemis II. I want to offer a huge congratulations to SETP members Reid Wiseman (AF) and Victor Glover (AF). Beyond executing a highly successful mission, your tireless work in the aftermath to share your story has inspired imaginations and dreams across the globe.
The momentum continues as two additional SETP members, Randy Bresnik (F) and Luca Parmitano (M), have been named to the Artemis III crew. Congratulations to you both; the entire Society wishes you the very best of luck as you prepare to push the boundaries of exploration even further.
Modernizing Our Database: AI Search Capability
Turning to technology updates, we are actively coordinating with the Flight Test Safety Committee (FTSC) to integrate their newly developed AI search tool into our SETP database.
Currently, we have 26 SETP members involved in a structured test program to vet the search capability, providing critical feedback and recommendations. This evaluation phase will wrap up in early August. If the results are as favorable as anticipated, we will formally add this AI search capability to our database functionality.
For those curious to see it in action, the FTSC search tool is currently operational on the Flight Test Safety webpage. You can access it via the Flight Test Safety website, which is linked directly from the SETP website under the "Committees" drop-down menu. I highly recommend taking a look to see what this capability will bring to our own records.
Lessons Learned: The Constitutional Ballot
As most of you know, the recent constitutional ballot to allow remote in-the-loop test flying to count toward membership requirements did not pass. The amendment required a 67% supermajority to carry, and it closed with 63% in favor.
More important than the final percentage, however, is what the Board of Directors and I learned by going through this process. We have captured a number of distinct lessons learned regarding both the ballot itself and our internal procedures. I am compiling these to archive for future boards, and I will be presenting our findings at the upcoming symposia.
Our single biggest takeaway is that for substantive constitutional amendments like this one, we must establish a formal period of public discussion within the Society. We need to enable direct feedback and input on a draft ballot prior to sending out a final version for a vote, and we must work harder to ensure higher engagement and participation across the entirety of our membership.
To that end, we recently distributed a survey to capture your raw feedback on the ballot and the process. We will collate these results and bake them directly into our formal lessons-learned pass-down, ensuring they directly inform how future constitutional amendments are implemented.
In the end, this is your society. Your input, your opinion, and your feedback are of the utmost importance. I failed to fully account for that dynamic in this recent ballot initiative, and I will strive to do better in the future.
Closing Thoughts
Despite the challenges, I am amazed every single day by the sheer depth and breadth of the flight test programs our members lead. From quiet sonic booms and flying to the moon, to testing and certifying electric powered vehicles, developing cutting-edge drone and automated flight technologies, teaching our next generation of testers, and pushing military and commercial capabilities further than ever before—you are the absolute best the world has to offer.
Thank you for your dedication, your resilience, and for everything you do to bring dreams and ideas into reality.
Kelly Latimer (F)
President, Society of Experimental Test Pilots
SETP Election of Officers Results for 2026-2027
The votes are in. The results of the SETP Election of Officers to serve on the 2026/2027 Board of Directors are:
Dan Hinson (F) was elected as President-Elect. Dan will assume the Office of President of the Society in September 2027.
Klas Ohman (AF) was elected as Vice President
Jeff Mabry (AF) was elected as Secretary
Oli Payne (M) was elected as Treasurer
Andy Edgell (AF) was elected as Legal Officer
Once again, I’d like to thank everyone that ran on the ballot. The next step in our procedure is to elect section leadership. I encourage all our Members to consider serving SETP locally. Section Chairpersons will then appoint Section Representatives who, along with Officer-appointed Technical Advisers, will complete the 19-member Board of Directors to be installed during our Annual Business Meeting in Anaheim on 26 September 2026.
Congratulations,
William Koyama (F)
Chair, Nominating Committee and
President-Elect 2025-2026
CIRP Flight Test Response for the B-52 Accident
It is with a heavy heart and immense sadness that I write to inform you that the U.S. Air Force has officially released the names of the eight crewmembers who lost their lives in the B-52 accident at Edwards AFB, California, on Monday, June 15.
With deep sorrow, we recognize the ultimate sacrifice of our fallen comrades. Among the crew were two SETP Members.
The crewmembers have been identified as:
- Col. Gregory Watson, 53, weapon systems officer, Boeing (Air Force reservist, assigned 10th Air Force, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas), Shreveport, La.
- Lt. Col. Gabriel Estrella, 40, weapon systems officer, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Detachment 5, Edwards AFB, Calif.
- Retired Lt. Col. Miles Middleton, 50, pilot, Boeing, Tehachapi, Calif.
- Maj. Alexander Davis, 34, weapon systems officer, 419th Flight Test Squadron, Lancaster, Calif.
- Maj. Robert Dee, 40, pilot, 419th Flight Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, Calif. (Provisional Associate Member SETP)
- Maj. Brad Hovey, 35, pilot, 419th Flight Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, Calif. (Provisional Associate Member SETP)
- Jeromy Smith, 32, flight test engineer, 419th Flight Test Squadron, Rosamond, Calif.
- Christopher Rischar, 41, flight test engineer, JT4 contractor, Lancaster, Calif.
Our Critical Incident Response Program (CIRP) and Family Support teams have been active since the accident occurred. They are currently on the ground providing dedicated support to the families, friends, and co-workers of the deceased during this incredibly difficult time.
Many within our community have already stepped forward and volunteered to help. We are deeply grateful for this outreach, and we will contact the membership if further assistance or support is needed in any way.
We honor the courage, professionalism, and sacrifice of our comrades. Please keep their loved ones and colleagues in your thoughts and prayers.
Kelly Latimer (F)
President, SETP
SAFETY NET THA Tool is online!
Big news that came out of the Flight Test Safety Workshop is the return of the Flight Test Safety Database (FTSDB), under our LLM enabled tool SAFETY NET. This has been a high priority for the board, and I am delighted to say the initial rollout has occurred. If you visit our home page flighttestsafety.org and click on search in the top right corner, you will see an option for the Paper Database Search Tool. Select that and it will take you to our two search tools. The tools are selectable by the drop-down menu in the top left corner. The first is the previously released FTSC Paper search tool that will look through our resources and videocasts to try and answer your query. The second is the new Test Hazard Analysis tool. As part of the initial rollout, the THAs are only the ones that were previously available in the FTSDB, but we have plans to add a process to submit and add more THAs to the database in the future. Another critical element is the feedback option in the top right corner. Please provide feedback on either tool so we can continue to tweak the LLM prompting and make it more useful to our community.
Getting a FTSDB replacement up and running is long overdue and I appreciate your patience as we worked through the technical challenges. I am excited about how these two tools will grow and expand in the future, helping to capture those previous lessons learned we might have otherwise missed. As always, feel free to reach out to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any questions or comments.
Stuart Rogerson
Chairman, Flight Test Safety Committee
2025 James H. McClellan Aviation Safety Award
On behalf of the SETP Board of Directors, congratulations to CW3 Dan C. Riggs, USA (M) on receiving the 2025 James H. McClellan Aviation Safety Award by the Army Aviation Association of America.
In April 2026, CW3 Dan C. Riggs, USA (M) was awarded the 2025 James H. McClellan Aviation Safety Award by the Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA) at their annual summit in Nashville, TN. CW3 Riggs is a U.S. Army test pilot serving in the Aviation Flight Test Directorate (AFTD), Redstone Test Center, Redstone Arsenal, AL.
He was recognized by AAAA for “contributions to Army Aviation safety during the AH-64E Unanticipated Yaw Test Program. Following five AH-64E Class A mishaps, the Department of the Army directed AFTD to conduct flight testing examining critical areas of directional control. As the primary XP on the project, CW3 Riggs helped plan, lead, and execute flight tests to recreate the mishap conditions, examining critical areas of directional control, assessing factors affecting directional control, and validating recovery techniques. Following test completion, CW3 Riggs authored a comprehensive 68-page white paper detailing aerodynamic mechanisms, flight control laws, contributing factors, and recovery techniques for unanticipated yaw. In addition to publishing the white paper, he coordinated over 12 trips and personally delivered 13 of the 20 briefs to U.S. Army, United Kingdom, and Republic of Korea Aviation units, reaching more than 650 AH-64 pilots, discussing the findings and recommended training interventions” (Army Aviation magazine, April/May 2026).
CW3 Riggs and MAJ Aric Jensen presented - Developing an Unconventional Flight Test Program: Lessons Learned from the AH-64E High Yaw Rate Arrestment at the 2026 Southeast Section Symposium in Huntsville, AL, and was awarded the Emerald Coast Award for the best technical presentation.
AAAA Award background: “Sponsored by GE Aviation in memory of James H. McClellan, a former Army aviator who was killed in a civil aviation accident in 1958, this award is presented annually "to an individual who has made an outstanding individual contribution to Army Aviation safety in the previous calendar year." The award is NOT intended to be given for the accumulation of operational hours without accidents by any aviation unit” (AAAA website).
January 2026, President Message
Presidential New Year Message to the Society of Experimental Test Pilots
Dear SETP Members,
Presidential New Year Message to the Society of Experimental Test Pilots
It is an honor and privilege for the 2025/2026 Board to continue serving this exceptional community of professionals. Our commitment to advancing the art and science of flight testing, supporting one another, and upholding the Society’s core values remains steadfast.
Since our Annual Symposium in Anaheim, I’ve had the opportunity to attend the SFTE Symposium in Savannah and the ITPS Workshop in London, Ontario. A common theme at both events was clear: automation, autonomy, and artificial intelligence are becoming increasingly central to vehicle design, development, and flight test. These technologies bring exciting opportunities—but also significant challenges—for test pilots worldwide.
During these gatherings, I had the pleasure of spending time with past SETP Presidents Rogers Smith (F), Billie Flynn (F), and Ricardo Traven (F), as well as SFTE President Jeff Canclini. Our conversations reinforced the importance of learning from our collective experience as we navigate the future. Rogers shared a quote from Gen. Eric Shinseki, former U.S. Army Chief of Staff:
“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”
This reminder underscores why we must embrace innovation while drawing on the lessons of our rich history.
Looking ahead to 2026, the Board is actively implementing recommendations from the UAS Committee to ensure our Society remains a leader in safety, standards, and best practices across all flight test operations. Early this year, you will receive an email with a proposed update to our Constitution. This update reflects the evolving needs of our membership and profession. The email will include the proposed changes, the rationale, and pro/con statements. Please take time to review and vote—your voice matters. Historically, only a small percentage of members participate in these decisions, and we need your input.
Another area of rapid change is the commercialization of space and the growth of space tourism. To address this, the Board will form a new committee to review membership requirements for pilot astronauts. Current criteria were based on the NASA model through the Shuttle era, and it’s time to reassess and determine if updates are needed.
On the topic of space, I want to congratulate Jared Isaacman (HF) on his appointment as NASA Administrator. Just last year, we welcomed Jared as an Honorary Fellow of the Society. In his first message to NASA, he wrote:
“NASA was never meant to be the caretaker of history…but to make history.”
This resonates deeply with our mission. SETP exists to leverage our history—our flight test experience and hard-earned lessons—to shape the future of aerospace.
With that spirit, we have a full calendar of section symposiums and safety workshops ahead. I encourage every member to participate. These events are invaluable opportunities to share knowledge, learn from peers, and strengthen the technical and safety exchange that defines our Society. By engaging with one another, we can meet the challenges ahead and ensure test pilots remain safe—and continue to lead aerospace innovation.
Thank you for your dedication, professionalism, and passion for flight. I look forward to seeing you at upcoming events and wish you safe flying and successful testing in the year ahead.
Kelly Latimer (F)
President, Society of Experimental Test Pilots