William Langewiesche, the acclaimed aviation writer and professional pilot who brought unprecedented literary depth to aircraft accident investigations and industry analysis, passed away on June 15 in Connecticut. He was 70. Cullen Murphy, his longtime editor at The Atlantic and Vanity Fair, confirmed the death was due to prostate cancer.
Langewiesche was a unique figure in aviation journalism—a professional pilot who wrote for major publications including The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, and The New York Times Magazine for nearly three decades. Unlike typical aviation reporters, his commercial flying background allowed him to analyze complex technical failures and human factors with rare authority and insight.
His most celebrated aviation work included investigations into the 1999 EgyptAir 990 crash, which earned him a 2002 National Magazine Award, and analyses of incidents ranging from the ValuJet 592 disaster to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370’s disappearance. Langewiesche’s account of the EgyptAir crash, enriched by his aviation expertise, concluded that the co-pilot had committed suicide—a finding that Egyptian officials rejected but that demonstrated his willingness to pursue uncomfortable truths.
“William was in a league of his own, not only as a pilot and aviation writer but as one of the world’s foremost investigative writers," said former AIN magazine editor Nigel Moll. "At The Atlantic and Vanity Fair he tackled such diverse issues as nuclear proliferation, maritime piracy, the cleanup at Ground Zero after 9/11, and the Sahara Desert. He authored nine books. Whatever the topic, he made great writing look easy. I will miss him sorely after 46 years of good friendship.”
The son of Wolfgang Langewiesche, author of the classic flight training text Stick and Rudder, William learned to fly as a child and worked as a commercial pilot to support his literary ambitions. After graduating from Stanford University with an anthropology degree, he briefly wrote for Flying magazine before leaving to pursue long-form journalism, supporting himself through corporate flying.
His controversial 2009 book Fly by Wire, about Sully Sullenberger’s Hudson River landing, argued that modern aircraft technology deserved more credit than pilot heroism—a position that drew criticism from Sullenberger himself.
Langewiesche’s initial breakthrough came in 1991 when The Atlantic published his 17,000-word Sahara Desert piece, leading to a 15-year tenure as national correspondent. His work earned eight consecutive National Magazine Award nominations from 1999 to 2008, winning twice.
Beyond aviation, Langewiesche covered national security, war zones, and industrial disasters with the same meticulous approach. His 2002 book, American Ground: Unbuilding The World Trade Center, chronicled six months of reporting at Ground Zero after 9/11.