A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

Socata TBM 700, Clovis, N.M., Dec. 22, 2008–The Board ruled that the pilot’s failure to complete the before-landing checklist led to his failure to lower the gear. The gear-up landing substantially damaged the single-engine turboprop. The pilot was using the autopilot for a straight-in approach to the non-towered airport’s Runway 22. Facing a 15-knot headwind, the airplane was still fast and a little high at 4.2 miles out, but the pilot “reserved” lowering the gear because the airplane was still at 185 knots. 
According to the pilot, “The approach felt normal. The next thing I knew we were sliding down the runway.” The TBM slid to a stop on the right side of the runway with the gear still retracted. The airplane suffered damage to the left rear spar, the center spar carrythrough and the aft fuselage. The pilot and three passengers suffered no injuries. The airplane was registered to Los Angeles-based Caterers Leasing.

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