Aircraft
Russell Meyer, Cessna Leader and GARA Champion, Dies at 93
Meyer transformed general aviation, championing the Citation family and GARA passage in 1994
Russell Meyer in a Citation cockpit
© AIN Archive

The general aviation community is mourning the passing of Russell W. Meyer Jr., Cessna Aircraft chairman and CEO emeritus, who led the manufacturer for 32 years and championed the 1994 General Aviation Revitalization Act. Meyer, 93, died March 4 in Wichita surrounded by loved ones.

A Yale and Harvard Law School graduate, Meyer joined Cessna as an executive v-p in 1974 and was tapped to lead the aircraft manufacturer a year later. During his tenure, Cessna reintroduced single-engine piston aircraft production at a time when it had nearly disappeared in the U.S., and expanded and modernized the company’s Citation business jet line.