Dick White:DICK WHITE, who has died aged 86, was one of the leading figures in Irish aviation during the 20th century. He served as chief operating officer of Aer Lingus for many years and was also the first chairman of Guinness Peat Aviation. He was later chairman of Airmotive Ireland.
Born in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, in 1924, he was the second child of Richard UB White and his wife Mary (nee Waller). He went to school at Castle Park, Dalkey, Co Dublin, and later attended St Columba’s College, Rathfarnham.
In 1939, following the outbreak of the second World War, he ran away from school to Belfast where he tried to enlist in the RAF. When it was discovered that he was 15, he was sent back to school.
Two years later, he was awarded a scholarship to study civil engineering at Cambridge, but withdrew to join the RAF and was trained as a Spitfire pilot. He was subsequently transferred to a transport squadron to fly DC3s in the Burma campaign.
Apart from having to contend with enemy action, mountainous terrain and monsoon storms made flying conditions hazardous, while navigation was by dead reckoning, with none of the modern aids.
After the Japanese surrender, the RAF became involved in helping to broker a peace during the Indonesian war of independence and he got to know some future leaders of the country, ferrying them to and from negotiations.
On returning to Ireland and believing that he was too old for student life, he heard that Aer Lingus was looking for pilots, ideally with experience of flying DC3s.
Having clocked up 1,600 hours on the DC3, he was welcomed with open arms. The following year he was appointed captain, one of the quickest promotions in the history of the airline. Seconded for a year to British European Airways flying Viscounts as a first officer, he then introduced the aircraft to the Aer Lingus fleet.
When the company opened its transatlantic operation in 1960, he was appointed chief pilot Atlantic and was at the controls during the inaugural flight of the Boeing 720, St Patrick; the 3,000-mile crossing took four hours and 57 minutes.
With the introduction of the Boeing 747 in the 1970s, things improved considerably from a pilot’s point of view. “There could hardly be a nicer aeroplane to fly,” he said.
He progressed to become chief pilot, flight operations manager, assistant chief executive (technical) and then chief operating officer with full responsibility for all day-to-day operations.
In all of these positions he retained responsibility for safety, in particular for flying standards and training. In this regard he built on the work of Jack Kelly-Rogers, Bill Scott, Stan Williamson and others.
Because of his flying and technical experience, he never lost sight of the responsibilities and realities of airline operations.
When Aer Lingus set up a joint venture with the Guinness Peat Group to lease aircraft, he became chairman of GPA. This was not only a measure of his management skills but also reflected the need for a start-up business to have a recognised and respected industry figure in charge.
In 1982 he was appointed chairman of Airmotive Ireland. The company, which provided jet engine maintenance services worldwide, created 400 jobs in the old Potez plant at Baldonnel. Retiring from Aer Lingus in 1990, he also stood down from Airmotive.
He was widely respected in the aviation industry internationally. As chairman of the International Air Transport Association, he focused on human factors as a cause of aircraft accidents.
After his retirement from Aer Lingus, IATA brought him back to head a task force on air traffic congestion.
People who worked closely with Dick White remember him as knowledgeable and experienced and as a very modest and self-deprecating person who inspired great loyalty among his colleagues.
Renowned for his exceptional integrity and high principles, he was always proud to be associated with Aer Lingus.
He enjoyed sailing, fishing and gardening.
He is survived by his wife Faith, son Shane and daughter Roxanne; in latter years he shared his life with his partner Jennifer, who also survives him.
Richard Newport (Dick) White: born May 20th, 1924; died June 5th, 2010