Capt. John McFadden, United Airlines

2021 PILOT ASSISTANCE AWARD

Capt. John McFadden is honored with the 2021 ALPA Pilot Assistance Award for his support of pilots in times of need through his work with the Critical Incident Response Program (CIRP). CIRP makes trained peer pilots available to ALPA members who need support when they experience the effects of an accident or significant incident, mitigating the impact of the body’s responses after a traumatic experience. The efforts of the many CIRP pilot volunteers could go unnoticed due to the confidential and very personal nature of this critical component of the Association’s Air Safety Organization. Capt. McFadden’s leadership during the COVID pandemic, however, has raised the level of CIRP engagement, transforming the program during one of the most challenging periods in airline history. After joining CIRP in 1998, Capt. McFadden became the CIRP national chair in 2019. He has worked with ICISF, FAA, TSA, FAMS, and United We Care, where he was a board member. He has also worked with the Build a Dream project, and served his fellow Pilot Assistance pilots on the international level, through the IFALPA HUPER Committee. Capt. McFadden’s goal was to make ALPA’s CIRP program the gold standard, and he made great progress; the overwhelming sentiment from pilots who’ve used the program is that it really made a difference in their lives.

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