Kathleen Fox

NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart, Board Members Robert Sumwalt, and Earl Weener together with TSB Chair Kathy Fox representing international collaboration to help improve transportation safety. Kathleen "Kathy" Carol Fox (born 24 December 1951) is a Canadian parachutist, pilot, flight instructor, air traffic controller, and business executive. After spending over 30 years in air traffic control, she was appointed chair of the Canadian Transportation Safety Board in 2014. In 2016, she was inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame.

Early life and education Fox was born on 24 December 1951 in Montreal, Quebec, and while still young showed an interest in flying. When she was only five, she used to pretend she was flying helicopters. She took her first flight when she was 13 in a Cessna in Cartierville, Quebec. Three years later, in 1967, an uncle paid for her first flying lesson at the Calgary Flying Club. But then she decided it was more important for her to study than to take flying lessons. As a result, she went on to study mathematics and science at McGill University, later graduating as a Bachelor of Science. She later earned an MBA from McGill.

Career On graduating, Fox considered a military career but decided against it when it was suggested she could be a nurse or a dietician. She was also interested in becoming an astronaut but it turned out she was not sufficiently qualified. After teaching for a period at a private school, in 1974 she decided to follow in the footsteps of some of her friends who had joined Transport Canada, aspiring to become air traffic controllers. Fox qualified as a controller in 1976 but opted to train as a pilot, earning her private licence in Sept-Îles, Quebec. After a spell at the control tower at Montreal/Saint-Hubert Airport, she decided to develop her flying career.

Awards In addition to her 2016 Canada Hall of Fame Award, Fox has received the Transport Canada Aviation Safety Award (1999) and was inducted into the Quebec Air and Space Hall of Fame in 2004. She has also received the Elsie MacGill Northern Lights Award (2010) and the David Charles Abramson Memorial Flight Instructor Safety Award (2011). In 2016 she was inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, and in 2018, she was inducted into the Women in Aviation Hall of Fame. She was presented with the Fédération aéronautique internationale Paul Tissandier Diploma and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.