Based in Washington, D.C., Bill covers business aviation and advanced air mobility for Aviation Week Network. A former newspaper reporter, he has also covered the airline industry, military aviation, commercial space and unmanned aircraft systems. Prior to joining Aviation Week in November 2017, he worked for Aviation International News and Avionics and Rotor & Wing magazines.
Bill was the recipient of the National Business Aviation Association's Gold Wing Award in 2017 and 2022 for his reporting on drones and advanced air mobility, respectively, and in 1997 received the British Royal Aeronautical Society Aerospace Journalist of the Year award in the business aviation category. He is the author of the book, Enter The Drones, The FAA and UAVs in America, published in 2016.
In a July 2 letter, lawmakers urged Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao “to dedicate the necessary staff and resources for the rapid publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM)” on the so-called Remote ID requirement for small drones.
The leadership of the U.S. House Transportation Committee has called on the U.S. Transportation Department to hasten its regulatory process to require that drones be capable of being identified from the ground.
Space-based surveillance provider Aireon has activated its Aircraft Location and Emergency Response Tracking (ALERT) service to provide on request the last known position of any transponder-equipped aircraft in distress.
