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Investigative Journalist and Pilot William Langewiesche Dies at 70

He continued producing award-winning on-site investigations until his death despite a cancer diagnosis in 2022.

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A Cessna aircraft

Overview

  • He passed away on June 15, 2025, at age 70, survived by his four children and remembered for nine books and countless in-depth articles.
  • Over more than 35 years, he wrote for FLYING Magazine, The Atlantic and Vanity Fair, pioneering on-site investigations across aviation, war and maritime industries.
  • His conflict reporting ranged from the 9/11 recovery to the Balkans, Iraq and South Sudan, often involving immersive fieldwork outside secured zones.
  • He probed aviation disasters—from ValuJet 592 to France 447—and examined nuclear escalation in a celebrated New York Times Magazine exposé on Pentagon war games.
  • Known for meticulous fact-gathering and a playful wit, Langewiesche eschewed self-promotion to focus solely on telling deeply reported stories.