Ron McAlister was an American private‑pilot and aviation instructor who died in a plane crash at Chicago Rockford International Airport in August 2020. At the time of his death he was 67 years old and a resident of Wayne, Illinois. McAlister was the founder of the King Air Academy, an aviation training school based in Arizona, which described him as a “father, grandfather, avid golfer, pilot and founder of the King Air Academy.” The crash occurred while McAlister was attempting to take off in a Beech 200 Super King Air aircraft that he had reportedly retrieved from maintenance. The Winnebago County Coroner’s Office identified him as the sole occupant of the aircraft; an autopsy was performed and the official cause of death was pending further investigation. These details are reported by local news outlets such as WREX and ABC 7 Chicago. [1][2]
The name “Ron” is a common diminutive of “Ronald,” a masculine given name of Old Norse origin meaning “ruler’s counsel.” The surname “McAlister” (also rendered “McAllister”) is a patronymic Scottish name derived from “Mac Alasdair,” meaning “son of Alexander.” No extensive biographical or historical records place Ron McAlister as a figure of broad public or scholarly significance beyond the local aviation community and the circumstances of his 2020 fatal accident.
References
- “Pilot killed in plane crash identified,” WREX, August 2020. (News article identifying Ron McAlister as the victim of the crash.)
- “Ron ‘Mac’ McAlister Obituary,” Legacy.com, 2020. (Obituary noting his role as founder of the King Air Academy.)
